Deer Lake Middle School

"An amazing school that I went to for middle school. I'm so happy that every teacher there made me feel welcome. And when I was struggling, they helped me in every way possible. The administration is great and they do all they can to make everyone feel safe and welcomed. Any problem I ever heard of was taken care of in the right manner. Including the couple of conflicts I had wer dealt with amazingly. I highly recommend this school for your child. I feel very prepared for high school."

"There are many problems I have with this school. I will try to cover them all. First off, I was told to kill myself and when my parents emailed the administrators about it they ignored it. I had also had someone try to choke me with my own necklace and the school ended up fixing it after lying to my father about what I had said to Mr. Mills while I was in the room. My problem with that situation is that the student that tried to hurt me never got any punishment. I also have a problem with what the priorities are in the school. They will take girls out of the class to force them to change because of the risk of her distracting one or two boys from their work. Also, at the end of the school year the school forces us to put everything in a clear shopping bag instead of a small backpack or drawstring bag which, in my opinion is one of the stupidest thing I have had to do. The thing that is really getting under my skin though is that on the last day of school we will be forced to clean up the rooms for our teachers which is the job of the teacher and the custodian so if they want us to do their job for them we need to get paid like they do. And you might be surprised to hear it but there is still more I need to adress. Such as how we are not allowed to be on our phones during lunch but the supervisors are always on their phone and not paying attention to whether there is a fight going on or not. I hope the school takes this as a very serious situation that needs to be attended to immediately."

"Its a good middle school. Its good, just "I CANT BELIEVE ITS NOT BUTTER!!!!!!" good If you know what I mean. Also, we need to deal with this bullying problem. I'm surprised I haven't got bullied yet.(also I haven't seen a fight yet :( )"

"Deerlake is an overall good middle school, providing a great curriculum for its students. Kind of nice how it stands on its own pavillion, deeply rooted in a neighborhood, as opposed to a more urban setting. Administrator leadership has always been strong. Interactions with faculty, non-academic staff, and administrators have always been positive. And parent-teacher correspondence for progress and problems is encouraged. They have always stuck their neck out for their students, although these situations will (and rationally) have to be brought to their attention for something to be done. One situation of a teacher request change (from a parent) that was granted on the spot, and a situation of bullying that dealt with promptly. Situations of minor misbehavior are often looked at by solving the situation as opposed to just punishing the student. Don't kid yourself (or let anyone else kid you), Deerlake is an upper middle class school, or should I say zoned in mostly upper middle class neighborhoods. While superficial behavior is expected amongst teens, these attitudes are more present here as opposed to other area schools. The real reason=lack of diversity of the student body. Keep that in mind if you have a child who is seeking to transfer, especially if they are a little weak willed. On a plus, Deerlake's culture scope does provide a student with the ability to stand on his or her two feet, competitive, and develop and display dignity-something much needed in these early years where independence for the real world truly begins."

"Let's face it...middle school is awful. Kids are trying to figure out who they are while their peers mock them for anything and everything. There is no way to get around this basic fact of life. Do I like it? Not at all. Do I wish it wouldn't happen? Of course. I personally feel like the administration at DMS does a fantastic job at controlling these behaviors WHEN THEY ARE BROUGHT TO THEIR ATTENTION. I have had a child that has been through three years at DMS and the last year was very tough. She fell for the "bad boy" who did everything from punching TWO kids (he was "having a bad day") to stealing a bike (he forgot he didn't ride his that day and it looked just like his!) to numerous other things. This is where things got tricky for me as a parent. I could not keep them away from each other at school and the staff could only do so much. They did support her and encouraged her to come to them with any problems or concerns. They also would check in with her occasionally to see how she was doing. I personally would have liked to see a higher level of discipline but that was not my call as a parent. I think it is important for everyone to realize that middle school is just that...a school for the middle years. It is the time to start letting your children learn to do the right thing by standing up for themselves (mommy and daddy can't fix everything forever). As I said, it was a rough year. She got the comments of how life would be better if she just killed herself. She was called names and bullied in just about every way imaginable. The fact is, the school can't do all the work. They can only do so much. Parents have to talk with their children about being bullied or being the bully. By the end of the year my daughter had found the self worth and courage to tell the boy she was not going to put up with it anymore and that she deserved better. I feel like this was because of the support of the office, SOME of her teachers (some just wanted to be buddy buddy with the kids while some seemed quite ready to be retired. There were a couple however that made her feel like she had a safe place to go), and INVOLVED parents. I will let you know that there IS drug and alcohol use at this school but, honestly, I think that happens at all schools. Once again, you must set your boundaries at home and the rest will fall into place. Should you find yourself on the receiving end of a phone call from the office regarding discipline know that my experience with the staff was very real and very comforting. They made it clear to my daughter, myself, and my husband that although her choices were bad that she was a good kid. That when she got back to school after her suspension they "would not be treating her any differently, that mistakes happen and that they were there to help her learn from them". That was amazing. To sum it up...there are some very entitled, mean people in this world. Not everyone is going to like you just like you will not be liking everyone you meet. Parents, teach your kids to be responsible for their actions...to own their choices. DMS and their staff, for the majority, will not only help you preparing your "babies" for the real world, they will APPRECIATE you for understanding your child isn't perfect and that they will, in just a blink of an eye, be in college and will need these skills in place."