2828 Bammel Ln #704
Houston, TX 77098

This rating tracks APs but not IB tests. Lamar is the world's largest IB school. The IB diploma and career tracks are great options for kids who choose that pathway.

Lanier is a Vanguard ("gifted and talented") magnet school. As a result, the school's students score relatively well on various standardized tests. This leads to high placement for Lanier in various school ranking systems that put significant weight on these test scores. This, however, has nothing to do with the administration or teaching at the school, which are average overall on a good day. As at any large school, teaching quality runs the full range: from excellent, to OK, to shockingly bad. The school has had frequently changed principals, with little success at finding the right fit.The moral of the staff is low. E-mails from students and parents frequently go unanswered (or inappropriately answered). There is apparently no top down leadership in this regard. The current principle seems to go out of his way to be unavailable and seems to make questionable hiring decisions. Teacher communications to parents sometimes refer indirectly (or directly), to a lack of administrative support.The physical school structure is very poor. It reeks of mold and the like, and perhaps some of the low moral of the occupants can be attributed to "sick building syndrome." If any building truly qualifies for this diagnosis, it is Lanier Middle School.Drop off and pick-up of students is pure chaos. There are way too many cars in a relatively small area, and it is just a matter of time until a student is seriously injured or killed.The main advantage to the school is that, because many students come from homes that value and support education, the learning environment is better than most alternatives, and there are less serious discipline problems. It is on this basis, and the absence of better alternatives in HISD, that I give the school 2 stars and a recommendation Again, this upside has little or nothing to do with administrators or teachers or HISD.

I truly believe Poe was a good school at one point. My parents and sister have lived in this neighborhood for over 25 years and a lot has changed. And if you have a child with any type of learning difference, please run; and, make sure that your future school can provide interventions.