Gerald W Kirn Middle School

my personal time at this school has been good but i deal with my battles at this school.

not learning anything, students are usually below average. This school is falling behind what it should be yet is somehow above other schools in the disctrict

Many of the teachers here are great. They do a very good job but I really dislike the grading system as do many of the teachers. It lumps in the kids all together so that the kids who are really working hard are still falling into the same grade lumping as the kids who aren't really trying. There is not much incentive for the students who work hard and care about their education to continue trying nor is there incentive for the kids who aren't trying to buckle down and work any harder. My other complaint is parent teacher conferences. They are a nightmare. Conferences are held in the gyms and you have to repeatedly line up and wait to talk to each of the teachers which will usually take a minimum of two hours. The lines are fairly ridiculous, wait times of about 20 minutes or so, per teacher. Sometimes more sometimes less. There really has to be a better way of handling it like maybe holding conferences over several days, spreading out the number of parents and students instead of all cramming in for a few hours in one night. They could also really stand to expand the art and music programs. Those really benefit the kids. Other than that, I would say keep up the good job!

Special needs program needs attention. there are good teachers, but the system could use help with special needs programs.