J Witherspoon Middle School

Very good school, my children love it here, especially the special education teachers, very, very good!

The school changed principles every year. You can tell the overall school's academic performance has declined so much during recent years. New teachers and admins kept coming and leaving. They are no longer on par with the other schools in nearby districts. I agree with the most of the previous reviews, except that the school is becoming even worse for gifted children. The teachers are more like robots. Plus, the staff members are extremely rude, and never care about your concerns.

The teachers are very dedicated and hardworking. But my three children have all struggled to learn Spanish, so I hired a local tutor. She informed me that most of her clientele is made up of CP students who aren't able to learn Spanish in the DLI program. I wasn't sure if it was just my children who are struggling, so I wrote to the principal and chair of the language department to request information about the students' overall standardized test scores. The older students take standardized tests. I was told this information is not released to parents, and that they compare the scores to the individual goals that they have set for the program. The program has chosen to teach mathematics in Spanish, which I believe may be the problem - so many students struggle to learn math, so trying to also teach Spanish during this block may simply be too much.

As someone who has been in many schools and many districts, nothing exceptional stands out here. In fact, my experience has been overall a net negative. I think the community feels that the university's reputation somehow defines them, when in reality, there is no connection. Teacher-to-parent communication was next to non-existent. Oftentimes, I was completely ignored. Many of my interactions with the staff are unfriendly, where they think they can do no wrong and uphold unreasonable policies. Even the PTO was unwelcoming despite promoting inclusion. Many of the parents were obstinate and inflexible, smiling in your face yet judgmental and caddy about things that should not matter. The new curriculum the school board signed off on is full of plagiarism and teaches factually incorrect information. Don't even think about going to the district office, they will lie directly to your face.

I really didn’t like this school I’m sure it’s good for some people but not for me they try to keep people through 21 which is fine as other schools do this as well but at the same time wether you need to stay or not they want to keep you there. There were a few good teachers but some absolutely sucked. I’m not going to say it’s awful the school but it was overrated. I agree with not using age but you can’t just use a mental health disorder or a disability either to justify everything. Every school has its flaws but this principle just couldn’t handle hearing her flaws and there was no cafeteria and library And they didn’t teach drivers or sex, Ed which is a big problem In my mind. I don’t get it But the graduation lasted for like seven years it was ridiculous It just kept going on and on who makes graduation that’s like five hours long. again, might be good for some people, but not me just overrated that’s all

During class, my daughter was speak out of turn too much (according to the teachers). she wasn't’ saying anything harmful, just the answers to the questions and little jokes, but only when the students were working on classwork. She was asked to go to the principals office because of this and had to miss recess. Normally, I would not have a problem with this, but the school knows that my daughter has ADHD and needs to move around during recess. She had a hard time the rest of the day because she was unable to get her energy out, and had a hard time containing it. Stuart does not understand neurodiversity. Also, i find many students at this school are incredibly bored during classes. Many days, my daughter comes home stressed or sometimes even crying because of a math quiz that she doesn’t understand or a large assignment due the next day. Overall, I do not recommend this school.

My son joined Princeton Day School this year in the 7th grade and we have been very happy with his experience at the school so far! I was blown away by how welcoming the students and faculty are to new students and I was very impressed with the diversity of the school community. My son previously attended an international IB school overseas and one of our biggest concerns in finding his "right fit" school was diversity and global perspective. PDS has truly exceeded our expectations in this area. The academics are challenging and the teaching staff supportive. The quality of athletic coaching and the wide range of sports choices are excellent. My son considered several Princeton-area private middle schools and it was a difficult decision, but after his first week of school we confidently knew he made the right decision For students looking for a supportive, challenging, and global middle school education, PDS is a great choice.