Dacula Middle School

Dacula Elementary utterly failed my son. He was an excellent student, academic high achiever, and a sweet kid who got along great with his teachers. He had a lot of trouble however, connecting with his peers and was diagnosed later on as having high-functioning autism. The administration minimized and allowed bullying of my child to progress to a point where he began engaging in self-harming behaviors as a way to "punish" himself for not being like everyone else. Despite communicating his feelings to teachers, counselors, and staff, he was left unsupported and the kids responsible were never held accountable beyond an occasional finger-wagging. If your kid is blessed to have good social skills, I'm sure this school is fine. If they struggle, however, even a little bit, they are left out in the cold. If they are bullied, nothing substantial will be done to address it. Cruelty is coddled here.

Mi niño estudia ahí, y lo que está haciendo desde el año pasado es atrasarse. La maestra del año anterior no le prestó atención, pero gracias a dios me cambio de escuela pronto

Not a fan of this school.Her teacher was switched within the first 2 months of school. I didn't love this as my daughter is in KK, so too many changes can be hard for young children, but thats life.When her new teacher started (brand new out of college), it became clear that she didn't have much of an understanding of the common functioning of 5yr Olds. This led to months of constant calls from the teacher and my child being assumed to be the issue in many problems that were simple misunderstandings/bickering between the children, or nuances that 5 yr olds havent learned yet(my child has no idea what flipping someone off is). When speaking to the principal about this, he dismissed me quickly and made no effort to make me feel my child was safe in their care.After speaking with several other parents from my child's class, and finding out they were also being told their children were being "difficult" with no prior issues with any other teachers. There was a common thread. The new teacher. She was fresh out of college and still learning. I get it, we all have to start somewhere, but I draw the line at my daughter crying to not go to school every morning and having all the happiness sucked out of school. She had no confidence b/c she was always in trouble and felt like she could never make her teacher happy. Building her confidence back since leaving this school has been a task. I don't know what was happening in that classroom, but the lack of help from administration and constant pointing the finger to my daughter rather than working together astounds me. I will be the first to admit my child isn't perfect. She makes bad decisions sometimes, but after everything I have learned and the in depth convos with her teacher who couldn't actually tell me specifics about why she was in trouble. Many things she got in trouble for, the teacher made an assumption and did not see the incident. My daughter doesnt typically argue with adults. If you said she did it, she will just say ok, im sorry. She doesnt stand up for herself very well. Since moving schools, we have had zero issues.

We have been at OPMS for 4 years and LOVE it! We have one gifted child and one with special needs. They have both thrived in this loving, culturally diverse school!!!