Denman (James) Middle School

It was totally a mistake to choose this School for the convenience was close to my House and found what I found, all the issues what schools can have this School have it.

Denman teachers are really wonderful, which has been our experience for our now third year at the school. The new leadership is supportive of their teacher/ staff team, the kids, and the parents. My 6th and 8th grade sons share interesting stories about things they're doing and learning, how and where they spend their lunch, their peer groups - though very different from each other, both are really enjoying their own unique experiences at Denman. They know lots of kids in each grade from their elementary school, with familiar parents both within the school volunteering and on the sidewalk at pickup. As far as the transition to and navigation of middle school, filled with all the antics of 11 - 14 year olds, our kids do surprisingly well, often better than we may imagine. The staff are excellent at guiding them through this time of life. Given the community, the ever-increasing parent involvement and fundraising, the effective and supportive teachers/ staff/ admin, the myriad options to explore interests via electives and clubs, the new landscaping for nature lovers and the huge blacktop for ball enthusiasts, why not choose Denman?

My child is a 6th grader and she is very happy here. As a parent I am surprised at how easy the transition to middle has been. My daughter feels safe, comfortable, and has made quite a few friends outside of her immediate circle of friends from Miraloma Elementary. She stays after school on certain days were her math and science teacher helps her if she has any questions. She likes all her classes, especially her math & science, and coding classes. As a parent, one of the things I love about this school is how quickly the teachers respond to any questions. My daughter had sent an email to one of the teachers on Saturday thinking that she would here from her sometime at the beginning of the week. She emailed her back within thirty minutes. We are happy to be a part of the Denman community.

My son is in his second year, 7th grade, at Denman. He is extremely happy there. He really likes all his teachers, and he is learning a lot. There is a good mix of project based and more traditional learning. He is feeling challenged, in particular by teachers prompting quite sophisticated discussions on a variety of engaging topics. He came from Miraloma with a large cohort of friends, and has made many new ones in the Denman community. His older sibling went to a different middle school, and there are interesting compare and contrast discussions around the dinner table some nights. But my Denman kiddo will passionately argue that his school is the best!