Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High School

I love this school! I never really felt like I fit in before because I am not good at sports and am more on the academic side of things. I found great people to immerse myself in to help build a better character for myself and grow to be a responsible teenager. Even the P.E. here is fun. You get to do sports that most other schools won't allow, like archery! If you are considering taking your student to this school to improve academic strength and build good study habits for high school and college, I highly recommend this school. However, if your child doesn't take school seriously or is leaning more towards the athletic and sporty type student, you might want to try somewhere else.

Emerson is a good place to go to school ONLY if you are popular. This is a bad school to go to if you have ever been an outcast or if you have any kind of noticeable disability because you will get bullied. I went to school over there for 3 years from 2013-2016 and I was very unimpressed with my experience. I had my group of friends and not a single one of them enjoyed it over there at all either. The bullying can be really bad. Drug usage is a well known problem on the campus. Weed especially. The most common place they do it is in both of the school gym's locker rooms. Fist fights can happen at any moment during passing periods or lunch or in locker rooms. Truancy is also a well known problem. I know that because I was an Office Assistant in the morning in my 9th grade year. Only one staff walks around outside in the school's courtyard all day to keep the entire school safe. Some of the teachers only want to just hand the work out to people and set deadlines. They have absolutely no problem failing students and are never available at lunch or after school. They have no control over the classrooms either. Other teachers are quite good and are willing to help people with academic needs. The building design is terrible. I had PE in 6th period in my 9th grade year. and the air conditioning wasn't working right so it was hot all of the time. It also looks like a layout of a prison. The building is old and classrooms are small. Conditions are terrible. Fire alarms have been activated many times due to faulty wirings. Bathrooms are terrible and lockers are way too small for backpack storage. I do not recommend going to this school but a different school.

I have worked as a sub teacher and paraeducator at this school as well as many others in the district. Most of the teaching I have observed here has been quite good. Unfortunately, the layout of this school is really a disaster. There are literally dead ends and it feels like a concrete maze. I am sure the school has a much larger population of students than when it was built, making the enclosed hallways claustrophobic and uncomfortable. It's hard to argue for a remodel with education funding being so limited, but the environment created by the architecture here is truly unpleasant.

My daughter has a great science and history teacher but her math teacher is horrible. Overall, she has a positive experience but the school would be better if they do something about the totally non-engaged teachers.