5th St
Gonzales, CA 93926

I taught In GUSD one year (2015-16), and this previous review pasted here, confirms what I discovered:Many great kids, many great staff, but weak leadership including the union, and district administration, especially the subversive Superintendent. The facilities are OLD and run down. Look at them before you sign a contract! Teachers looking to work here be forewarned- do NOT, I repeat DO NOT, let the salary schedule or the potential $5000 bonus, or insurance tempt you. Great staff has been released these past several years-almost every teacher hired is released by the 2nd year. Just this past 3/15 deadline the Board agreed they made the right decision in approving the release of up to 17 probationary teachers including 5 science teachers from the MS and HS. Morale is low and being in the grip of Program Improvement with no end in sight doesn't help. Instead of turning over teachers not given time to learn the district required programs like GLAD before the decision is made to release them, perhaps it's time to look at the performance of the Superintendent and her 2 Asst. Superintendents. Ask what changing them and other admin. would accomplish. They are "not the right fit" for this district. If they were, they would keep more teachers; morale and scores would go up.

Although students are predominantly Hispanic, at about 90% of the population, students are subjected to racism by some teachers. The school lacks the resources and qualified faculty to offer students a superior education. The academic statistics back up this theory. The principal does not seem to be the right fit as he lacks the training needed to deal with young children and he seems to be a bit clueless as he doesnt know some of the basic things going on in the school. For such a small town of just over 8,000 residents, 30% of which are under 18yo, the school seems to be overcrowded at almost 500 students, ranging from 6-8th grade. Some of the faculty members demeanor is very unwelcoming to the students as some treat kids as if they were a nuisance instead of OUR FUTURE. Sadly this is the only middle school in town and most parents cannot travel the 50mile+ round trip to Salinas every day to search for a better alternative.

I attended this school years ago when it was truly an amazing place. The staff back then genuinely cared and went above and beyond for their students. Unfortunately, that level of dedication, care, and professionalism no longer exists. My recent experience with the staff was extremely disappointing they were rude, unhelpful, and unprofessional, and I left feeling very upset with how things were handled. It’s heartbreaking and frustrating to see how much this school has declined over time. The students here deserve so much better.