8 Mary Ave #8
North Chelmsford, MA 01863

The school has a few good things to it. Most of the teachers were good, but some of the stuff you learn isn't going to help you in middle school (For most kids who go to this school Clarke). For example the math teachers at Clarke HATE the Big 7 method for solving multiplactaion which is the main method teachers teach you at this school. Also the food is horrible. Just take the pizza. Its disgusting. And the parking lot rules are god awful. If letting all the cars go exit after the kid is dropped off before letting the walkers who are late for school sounds good then I don't know what to say. But there are a few good things about it. For one most of the teachers are good. But the best thing about it is the extended day program. It was the best part about my years there. All the teachers are amazing, the games are amazing, and the show is breathtaking. I loved it so much. If it weren't for it I would give it a below average. But thanks to it it gets an average. By Former Student

Teachers determine how good your year is because every teacher will give you a completely different experience. The building is stuffy with no ventilation, very cramped, dirty, and outdated. The homework load is very unpredictable and messes with your schedule. One night you could have no homework and another you could have 8 hours. The school doesn't set their priorities straight, and funding is skewed towards the football team which is terrible. The arts program is among the best in the state, however it gets almost no funding. School events are run almost entirely by the deans while the principle and administration does very little to help. School doesn't care to help students develop a strong character, and the special ed program is very isolating. Students are not taught what they need to know. The school doesn't care about conduct, and does very little to correct poor behavior and drug use. Academically the school is above average, but problems stemming from the poor administration causes the experience at CHS to be much worse then it needs to be.

I love going to McCarthy because there are a lot of opportunities there. We put on a play every year that students can audition for or you can help build the set in tech club. The performance music groups are another option, you can choose between orchestra,band, or chorus. The teachers are great. They make sure that you understand the material before moving on and some teachers have before school reviews/help. The only thing that stresses me out is the homework. I'm in the 7th grade and the amount of homework we get is stressful and depending on what group of teachers you get I personally think that team 7-2 is the hardest but our teachers make sure we know everything.