East Middle School

Wonderful experience. Lots of opportunities for students through classes, clubs, and sports. We came from a charter school and wish we had not wasted a year there.

I was a student at East Middle School through 6th grade and the beginning of 7th grade, and upon comparing this school to others that I have been to, I really treasure my experience at East. When I went into 6th grade, I was accepted into the TAG (talented and gifted) program, and I didn't have any friends. The sense of community let me become friends with many of the students, and soon I came to look forward to school. The TAG program offers such a wonderfully in-depth and challenging program, and even though there is a lot of homework (please take this into consideration if you are thinking of trying out the TAG program), I learned more in a few months than I do at the school I am at now, since the teachers are very encouraging and push you to your full potential. For information other than academics, there is a great choir and teacher, and my band friends really enjoy the band. There is an orchestra, but you have to take the bus in the morning to the high school in order to join. I play the violin, and would have loved to join, but found that waking up very early would have been too much for me. If you are an early bird, I'm sure you can work something out! For sports, there is cross-country, volleyball, I think soccer, and perhaps some more sports, but I was never involved in any of them. The primary focus for me has always been academics, and this school sure gave me the opportunity to challenge myself and dive into a community that is focused on teamwork, classmate and teacher interaction, and many challenges (not just worksheets and test!) to fulfill any student's love for learning. Additionally, technology, like every student's personal chromebook, paid for by the school and loaned to each student, is blended with traditional pencil and paper. I know that some past reviews say that this school is terrible and the teachers and staff don't care, but my experience was great. Plus, those reviews were years ago! East Middle School has updated tremendously since then, and I recommend it to any student looking to enroll here.

My daughter is part of this school, and has great attitude towards everyone around her. She enjoys all the activities, loves the fact teachers take part in student conversations. with fun and education they learn discipline, and humbleness. one of the top middle schools I know

Overall, East is a pretty pathetic situation. I've been attending since sixth grade (this is my eighth grade year), and since then, the conditions have gotten progressively worse. A once thriving student council program is now nonexistent. Students are never sure who their counselor will be, since there are different ones every year and almost always different substitutes that know nearly nothing. The eighth grade class goes on a trip to Cedar Point for a day, while other schools in the district go to places like New York City or Washington D.C. for nearly a week. There are few leadership opportunities for students, especially TAG students. As the TAG school, it's rather sad how careless some (not all) of the teachers are. Some take months to grade an essay, and others seem to forget that school starts at 7:58 and walk in ten minutes late pretty regularly. The administration is rather reactive instead of proactive, especially when dealing with disciplinary issues. Students are often punished for small things like having a phone ring in class, but bullying is pretty much scoffed at and is rarely a reason for punishment. I'll be happy to leave East.