4523 SW Cullen Blvd
Portland, OR 97221

theres a lot of great better options for middle schools. personally i would leave this school.

I agree with the other poster that mentioned that PPS is the limiting factor. The district itself is pretty terrible and it always felt like SW Portland schools were forgotten in district politics and program offerings. We were at this school for two years. In that time experienced two different principals and also a lot of disorganization at the classroom level particularly with respect to technology use. There was also a problematic teacher that was placed at this school in one of the upper grades that was difficult to remove even after causing distress amongst students in their classroom. Just overall not a great experience. Facilities are also dated. The PTA was super active and inclusive. They were probably they best thing going at this school.

I am currently a freshman at Ida B. Wells. So far, my experience has been good, and it has definitely been my best school experience.So far, IBW has been the one to accomodate me with my 504 plan the best. Most teachers I know also allow students to listen to music while doing work, which is one of the things I haven’t seen in other schools.As for the phone policy, a new one has been made this year, where all students are required to put their phone in the “phone jail” (just a caddy), but some teachers are really lenient about it and just let you keep it in your pocket/bag.The schools prioritization on mental health has skyrocketed! There are many resources for everyone around the building and on the website. The first unit in Health 1 is about mental/emotional health, which is neat to see.As for equity between students, I believe it’s definitely gotten better throughout the years, but it’s not perfect. They have put lots of effort into trying to make everyone feel accepted regardless of race, gender identity, ethnicity, etc. and for the most part it’s worked, but there are still people throwing out slurs in the halls like it’s nothing.The teachers are great, but as for every school, some are better than others. From what I noticed, almost all teachers put in a great amount of effort to teach every student regardless of their level of understanding. There are “flex” times twice in a row every two(?) weeks, where students can go to their teachers classrooms and get extra help. When a student is struggling, from what I’ve observed, it’s not always the teachers fault.Most students are usually engaged in class, but I noticed maybe like 30% of students are struggling in class or just not paying attention at all. And it’s probably something going on with their personal life, but those students are usually not engaged in class unless its a hands on activity or game. I think more teachers should start implementing these into their classwork.IBW has a HUGE amount of extracurricular activities, from 50+ clubs (from BSU to speech and debate to bird watching), different sports per season, fine/performing arts, and at least one elective for just about everyone. IBW encourages you to be active in the community, which is something that I love. Overall, I would reccommend IBW. The college readiness is great (love my cce teacher!), the community is great, and I’m excited to begin my highschool years somewhere I can feel safe and accepted!