8662 Elder #2A
Orlando, FL 32827

I'm gonna try to keep this as brief as possible. I cannot only say that Lake Nona Middle School is a bad choice for your kid, but I can also say, from experience, that it is a dangerous choice for your child, especially if that child has a medical condition. My daughter started at LNMS in 2022. She is a diabetic. I did my due diligence in setting up a meeting with the principal and VP to discuss her needs and their approach to diabetic care. There was no nurse, and the "health aide" they had there at the time had no medical training (and, as a side note, was probably the most unpleasant woman I've ever met.) During our meeting, which should have been a 504 meeting since she had an active 504 from her last school but they had no interest in talking about that, the principal and VP could not have been LESS interested. The VP spent the majority of the meeting scrolling through her phone, ignoring us. My daughter has a learning disability and hearing loss in addition to T1D. This was ALL outlined in her 504 and her health plan. They would not let her carry emergency glucagon. Not a SINGLE teacher allowed her to sit near them in the classrooms so she could hear better. When she had to go to the health room to get dosed for lunch, as they required her to do, she was met with either an empty room or a "health aide" who was outwardly hostile to her, even telling her, "I'm tired of you coming down here" at one point. She struggled to finish her lunch quickly, because she had to wait to be dosed, and the lunch room monitors bullied her regularly, asking her why she was "so slow" and not allowing her to finish despite having dosed for the food.Now, it is obvious my daughter has some differences. She has a condition that causes extreme short stature. There was not a single teacher there (outside of her theater teacher) who stepped forward to advocate for or protect my kid in a school with about 2500 kids in it. It all came to a head when they abandoned her in a locker room during a critical hypoglycemic episode. Her health plan said she had to be accompanied when treating a low, but they ignored it. When I rushed to the school (because her Dexcom told me she was in trouble), they couldn't find her. They straight-up LOST my kid. We unenrolled her immediately. We ended up moving CROSS COUNTRY to get out of the Florida Public School system. If that's not an option for you, I would suggest homeschooling if your child has ANY needs. I can never recommend LNMS.

This is the worst school ever. It was originally built to accommodate 2,600 students, but currently has almost 6,000. That alone tells you a lot about the school. The staff are very rude to both parents and students. Kids spend a lot of time in the cafeteria because there often aren't any teachers available. When teachers do show up, they’re usually in a bad mood and treat the students like criminals.We bought a house in Laureate Park because we were told the school was supposed to be good. Who can afford a private school are lucky. Most people here are very upset with the school.

The first two years of our child’s experience at this school took place under excellent conditions thanks to teachers we found kind, available, and genuinely invested in their students’ well-being and success. We have positive memories of that period.Unfortunately, the following year became much more difficult for our daughter. From the beginning of the school year, she gave us signs that certain things were making her unhappy, but she did not want to talk about them further or have us intervene. She was afraid that doing so would make her daily experience at school even more difficult. We respected her choice, sincerely hoping the situation would improve over time.As the months passed, we saw her distress gradually increase. Toward the end of the school year, the tears became more frequent and she finally found the strength to explain more clearly how she had been feeling. That was when we began communicating with the school — probably too late for the situation to improve.Despite very strong academic results and consistent effort throughout the year, she gradually developed the feeling that her work, commitment, and progress were not being recognized fairly. One point stood out to us: although she worked seriously all year, a behavior evaluation stating that she “does not take responsibility for her actions” had consequences for certain school recognitions we believed she may have qualified for.If her behavior had truly been considered concerning to that extent, we would have appreciated a more direct conversation or meeting to better understand the situation and support her. Instead, we mainly received occasional messages without a real opportunity for discussion.When we tried to better understand this decision with school administration, we left feeling that our concerns had not truly been heard. We also felt that the emotional impact this could have on an 8-year-old child had not been fully considered.Beyond a certificate, what affected us most was the message a child may take away: doing their best, making consistent efforts, and still leaving with the feeling that those efforts were not fully recognized.We ultimately decided to change schools to protect her well-being and allow her to grow in an environment better suited to her needs.We share this review in a constructive spirit, because a school experience is not defined only by academic results, but also by whether each child feels supported, encouraged, valued, and heard.