Renfroe Middle School

I love this school and I strongly recommend it to any other parent or guardian out there!

Not at all the exceptional experience I was lead to believe it would be for my child. Anyone that doesn't fit the "typical" mold will be left behind. Teachers and particularly administrators are minimally communicative and often ignore emails and voicemails. The school fails to hold students accountable and then appears baffled when students don't take their academics or behavior seriously. We couldn't have been more thrilled to withdraw our child in favor of another learning environment. Don't believe the City Schools of Decatur hype.

If your child is a compliant learner, the family has high household income, and never runs across the wrong teacher, it will probably be a smooth and enriching experience. Otherwise, it could be the most you ever paid in taxes for the worst experience. Coin toss. School removes reviews they don't like so I'll be returning regularly to rewrite this.

Our second child is there now and our first already graduated. Renfroe (and Decatur H.S.) get their deserved accolades for strong academic achievement. Our teachers have all been solid and engaged. The school and neighborhood culture is somewhat challenging because there is almost no "middle group" of students. It's more wealthy and educated (and liberal if that matters to you) families combined with lower income families driven largely by the way $$$ housing is in Decatur. It is also a largely academics first/only type focus. Lackluster emphasis on sports facilities is prevalent (i.e. we have no track, lots of sports have to go to nearby parks to practice, football practices on a small stretch of grass behind the school and stores their gear in a portable storage container plopped in the parking lot). If you are a soccer/lacrosse family you'll fit right in. Football or basketball not so much. It may be a common experience elsewhere too, but one of our frustrations being in an environment like this is our children because they're good students and well off are often neglected because they don't cause trouble or struggle in class. I get it, but some days as a parent who wants their children to be the best they can be it's frustrating.