53 Spruce Poin
Saint Augustine, FL 32086

This school might have been “the place to be” 10 years ago. But now it’s nothing more than a bunch of bratty cliquish loud mouth students that day and do mean things to each other. If your child is new, and learns a little differently and is unique, don’t expect him or her to have any friends or have good encounters with the cliques that are steadfast in place. The parents are what makes a good school as well, and these parents are not very involved or friendly. I moved from out of state and am just shocked at how this high rated school is really run. The only good thing is we have an excellent teacher and the materials are challenging. But it’s hardly a good learning environment. Also, the school is not very secure and has major safety issues.

I was worried going into 6th grade about the more advanced classes, but they are actually amazing! There are many opportunities for High school credit, including Spanish 1, Biology, Algebra 1, and Geometry. Many teachers are very kind and supportive, and the majority of them (electives and core classes) seem to genuinely love their job and care about the kids. The guidance counselors are helpful and cooperative; my interactions with mine, Mr. Canoura, have always been pleasant and productive. Administration sends out weekly newsletters that (unlike others) are actually quite informative. There are lots of fun electives, including agriscience, (which was one of the most interesting and hands-on classes I’ve taken) which is unique to only this middle school in the county. I’ve found comfort in many staff members here, but I would like to specifically shout out Ms. Garner, the media specialist, for always checking up on the students, and forming connections with everyone. Overall, this is a wonderful school.

I have 3 children, 2 are adults and college graduates, 1 attended this school for 9th grade. We have lived all over the US and Europe. I can not even begin to understand how this school is allowed to exist. The school leadership believes that their whole job is protecting bad teachers. It’s alarming how bad some of them are. I love teachers and have several in my family. This school seems like the place they send bad teachers to live out the rest of their days- With a few exceptions (thank god for her honors physical science, art, and history teachers). My student applied to this school to attend an academy that she was actually passionate about. Now she would rather just attend regular high school. That should tell you something. The architecture career academy teacher and the honors geometry teachers were the main problem. One of them likes to answer legitimate questions students have with smart-butt remarks like, “You can’t fix stupid,” or, “Look it up yourself.” He allows racial and homophobic slurs to be used in class and has been overheard using them himself. The geometry teacher doesn’t teach as much as he talks endlessly about the marine corps and how much he loves Trump. The students knew they could get him off topic by bringing up either of those 2 subjects, and they did so regularly to disrupt the class. My student ended up teaching herself geometry on her own time on Khan Academy. Again, the administration doesn’t care. Complaints go unanswered or you get gaslighted. A lot of these bad teachers are tenured so our community will never be rid of them until they retire or die. Is it a coincidence that so many bad teachers end up at this particular school where the county’s most disadvantaged students live, or is it on purpose?This school does not care about safety at all. The parent pick up situation is absurd. You have to leave the roadway and drive in a ditch to stay in line. The front desk staff just lets anyone in like our country doesn’t have a school shooting problem at all. It wasn’t until after the 2nd semester that they sent out an email explaining the new safe entry procedures which were then only sporadically followed. It’s an open campus so kids can come and go- this has been proven to be an unsafe practice time and again.