Mesa Verde Middle School in San Diego

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	10/10	The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) data from California Department of Education, and using 2025 California Science Test data from California Department of Education.
Student Growth	7/10	The Student Progress Rating measures whether students at this school are making academic progress over time based on student growth data provided by the Department of Education. Specifically, this rating looks at how much progress individual students have made on state assessments during the past year or more, how this performance aligns with expected progress based on a student growth model established by the state Department of Education, and how this school's growth data compares to other schools in the state. The Growth Rating was created using 2025 Student growth data from California Department of Education.

Posted: August 16, 2026

Our daughter just finished middle school here, and we couldnt have asked for a better experience. Its an amazing school with exceptional teachers and staff. Our younger daughter just started here as well, and were looking forward to another three wonderful years!

Posted: January 14, 2026

We have recently moved to the area. Our 11yr old son with autism attends here now. Everyone at the school is really nice and welcoming. Our son loves his class with Ms. Ruby. This is a huge contrast to his experience at Challenger Middle School in Mira Mesa. I would definitely recommend Mesa Verde Middle School to anyone with a child with disabilities.

Posted: June 3, 2025

I love this school, and it has really improved my learning. Ms. Milling is one of the amazing teachers here!

Posted: May 14, 2025

We are very thankful for the warm welcome and support our children received at Mesa Verde. This school is friendly and kind to new students. Both of our sons made good friends and felt happy here.

We moved to the U.S. last December, and Mesa Verde helped our family a lot. This summer, we need to move to a place closer to my husbands job. Our children are very sad to leave. They will always remember their time at Mesa Verde. Thank you to all the teachers, staff, and students.

Posted: March 17, 2025

this is an awesome school especially Mrs. Kangas is the best teacher

Posted: August 21, 2024

I am very disappointed at MVMS.
This school is ok in until you have a problem and you need some help. Staff doesn't care and counselors are not helpful.
Avoid this school if you can.

Posted: June 7, 2024

Great teachers. Admin lack judgement and proper communication with parents when incidences have arisen. Over react to small stuff and do nothing but pass the buck when they fail. We had a child there 8 years ago and the admin was stellar. Hoping the new principal next year can turn things around.

Posted: April 12, 2024

My experience with this school has been disappointing, and I feel compelled to share my observations for the benefit of potential future families considering this institution. The level of support and engagement from the majority of the staff, including teachers and the principal, seems lacking. It appears that resources and attention are disproportionately allocated to the Special Education and IEP programs, leaving other students feeling overlooked.

Unfortunately, my attempts to reach out to the principal and other staff members for assistance or discussion have often been ignored, except when contributions to the school are solicited. This has led to a sense of disconnection and a belief that there is little motivation among the staff to address these issues, perhaps influenced by the district's high ranking which may obscure underlying problems.

Counselors have not met our expectations, coming across as robotic rather than tailored to individual student needs. Its disheartening to observe that genuine care and commitment to student success seem to be the exception rather than the norm among the staff.

There are, thankfully, a few teachers who show true dedication and concern for their students' education and well-being. However, this highlights what could be possible if such attitudes were more widespread.

Posted: August 10, 2023

My son is in 7th grade at MVMS. Awesome staff, great principal and helpful administrative team, nice buildings and campus, very good parents that care. Fun events and after school programs. This is one of the best middle schools in a very sought after school district. There are some weird 1-star reviews about a fidget spinner getting taken away and some covid reviews.. come one now people. My kids are learning a ton and haven't experienced bullying, etc. Very happy about Mesa Verde.

Posted: March 23, 2023

This school is terrible, the learning standards are so low and my child is complaining that he doesn't do anything useful there and they sit there doing nothing. I thoroughly check his homework every night and I can see from my own experience of middle school, that his homework is very low standard and too easy to be effective at developing his thinking mind. We used to go here but we went to Black Mountain Middle school instead. I would not recommend.

Posted: January 31, 2023

Took my friend dis fidget toy dont go to this school

Posted: January 21, 2023

This is very discriminatory school. Used to be a mediocre one but post pandemic has downhill. OVMS and BMMS maybe a better choice.

Posted: June 1, 2022

This school is amazing they treat every one amazing

Posted: October 7, 2021

I pulled my 6th grader out during virtual learning and homeschooled him during the pandemic. He was behind, had low confidence, hated school, and was categorized as high risk.

I homeschool him for the last 2/3 of the year, and he recently aced his 7th grade assessments. He now attends a Catholic school, he is in advanced classes, and he doesnt dread going to school.

Posted: October 7, 2021

Posted: June 14, 2021

If you read the ratings on here, it's mostly parents of special needs kids who seem to think having their special needs kid thrown in with everyone else is a good idea. Not only does this hold other students back, but it also makes their kids stand out like a sore thumb around other kids who wonder why the teacher has to stop every two seconds to help someone who is clearly lagging behind their peers.
Then Mom and Dad have unrealistic expectations for their special needs kid, who they think should be in the same classes with everyone else. When the rest of us grew up, there was special classes for special needs kids. Nowadays in the name of not hurting anybody's precious little feelings, we throw them to the wolves and put the special needs kids in with everyone else, which literally makes NO SENSE.
So yeah read into the situation, before you judge the school reviews of the parents who are more annoying than their kids.

Posted: June 14, 2021

Posted: June 19, 2020

My child experienced NO BULLYING at this school. And he had at other schools. So I was very impressed with this.

Posted: June 19, 2020

My son went here from 7th-8th grade. Overall I would describe this school as too rigorous and not enough fun. And stressful. My kiddo who had gotten straight As at his previous school without undue stress was having 2 hours or more of homework every night, and in class was saying he felt like he was having "a nervous breakdown." No kid this age should say school makes them feel that way.

At his previous school he loved history, and he learned to hate it here. It seemed like too much of it was drill and kill (especially in 8th grade), though we did like the history fair in 7th (and he didn't hate history then, just didn't really like it as much).

There was no bullying though which I really appreciate. That's saying something for junior high.

Posted: June 19, 2020

Homework here is excessive. 2 hours most nights is just TOO MUCH for junior high, and I felt like a lot of it was busywork. So many flashcards!

Posted: March 8, 2020

I wish we had researched this school throughly before buying a home here.

Posted: March 8, 2020

Posted: March 7, 2020

It was awful. Luckily, the assistant principal took an interest in our daughter who has learning differences and emotional challenges. The teachers there are just the worst we have ever encountered.

Posted: March 7, 2020

Posted: October 18, 2019

The teachers do not respect the students so how do they expect the students to buy in on their character model.

Posted: October 18, 2019

I have seen no leadership. The teachers all do things differently and there is no recourse. I have no idea who is running this school.

Posted: October 18, 2019

ABSOLUTELY NOT. This is the worst part. This school assumes that all kids fit their model. If the kids do not fit the model, then this school has nothing for them.

Posted: October 18, 2019

We have not seen any bullying going on.

Posted: October 18, 2019

There is no consistency between teachers policy. The kids and parents are left guessing and some teachers do not respond to questions.

Posted: October 18, 2019

The teachers teach with the assumption that every kid fits a perfect mold of the Poway school district. When they come across a different kind of kid they abandon him and encourage him to fail so that if he moves to a different school he does not affect their test scores.

Posted: October 18, 2019

Horrible. We will most likely be leaving this school district. We had the same issues in elementary school. I believe this is what they want us to do so that our son does not drag down their test scores.

Posted: July 5, 2018

It is time for Cliff Mitchell to retire. He will absorb criticism and behave in friendly ways, but in the end, he will do nothing about any complaint. Status quo all the way. He couldn't lead himself out of a wet paper bag. The marching orders from Poway's new superintendent are to promote a political agenda at all costs, otherwise, stay the course and you will be rewarded.

Posted: July 5, 2018

This goes both ways. If a child is IEP or diagnosed otherwise, some efforts are made to accommodate. Many people abuse that system to secure additional attention for their otherwise-mainstream but lazy kid. If a kid is advanced, attentive, ready and able, they will be given "average" teachers because the school knows these kind of kids come from families who take care of themselves. Their scores will not drag down the average, so the decision goes out to make the best teachers available to stop the bleeding on the low end. Again, Mesa Verde is stealing public credit for the parents' moves. It is so bad and widespread knowledge, immigrant Chinese parents are pressurizing their kids to beat that MAP Math assessment test to score well above 270 in order to skip past Compacted 6-7 Math and enter Compacted 7-8 Math in 6th grade. They have seen both how horrid the CMP curriculum is (hundreds of districts have already abandoned this new-new-Common-Core-Compliant-student-taught math curriculum from Michigan State....look it up). They know from neighbors how poorly it is taught here. So, if the question is supporting learning differences upward: nope. You get none.

Posted: July 5, 2018

Details given above. Bullies have free reign. Go ahead, cut a kid's eye and knock him down, let your friend sit on him as he struggles to stand, then, when adult help finally arrives, explain to the adults "it was an accident" and you will be in class tomorrow. No suspension, no expulsion. Maybe a detention? True story. Chinese immigrant parent of socked kid "didn't want any trouble" and so it slid right by.

Posted: July 5, 2018

Homework is virtually non-existent and is often handled entirely at lunch break or free periods. If actual lecturing took place, reiterating content with proper homework would be helpful. It is a STRUGGLE for a child to secure under an "A" in this school. They have to be "ignore it all" inattentive rowdy to choke like that. If they proceed to Westview High School as typical, where things start to get really serious and UC-like, it will be a whiplash tour for them.

Posted: July 5, 2018

Between aging teachers who are slowly retiring as they celebrate their 25th year since opening, and the union thuggery that cows the administration into submission, added to recent additions of teachers who have been freshly indoctrinated and who have simply decided that a last-minute career change into public service would be a great way to supplement their retirement program, you have very little good going on here. The care for performers is underserved. ALL of the achievement you can read about such as CAASPP is owing to high-expectation Chinese immigrant parents who seriously supplement their kids. Poway Unified and Mesa Verde are stealing credit for their moves. The school is not a resource to parents. It is more of a time-sink.

Posted: July 5, 2018

This school is bad enough that if you came here with starry-eyed expectations of high-achievement because you read about some reasonable tests scores, be advised: your kid's performance is on you alone. And those test scores, try to evaluate when they were obtained. In recent times, they are less impressive. Much less. Lastly, know that handfuls of kids are ejecting from Mesa Verde after this shocking experience and the parents are digging deep to afford a private education for the 3 years needed to clear this clownshow and to be ready for solid education at Westview.

Posted: April 1, 2018

they graduate great kids who achieve and are respectful.

Posted: April 1, 2018

Effective - it balances creativity with academic success with fairness

Posted: January 23, 2017

I've seen many kids bullied in the lunch and the "yard duties" don't care. They only care about picking up trash and believe or not, no running or tag, isn't tag and running the best way to have fun in school?

Posted: January 23, 2017

They have many clubs and students actually feel like they are contributing to the school, its a nice feeling being in the Kind Crew because they help other people

Posted: January 23, 2017

Terrible, I feel like sometimes I'm ignored because I simply already know the subject, sometimes I get taught something I already know. Although my class uses a lot of Chromebooks and technology, my main concern is that in third grade, we were told that we would grow up through school using Ipads, 4 years later in 6th, technology was practically banned, and in this school year, they banned cell phones and tablets. The only reason why I have high grades is because the expectations for success is sooo low. Another problem is that the school is extremely old and the maintaince crew only seems to worry if toxic mold begins to grow. throughout my school, lights have sticky notes on them saying "bad ballast" and then they don't work, but I've seen one where is says xx/xx/14, that's nearly 3 years ago! they have a terrible drainage system. During these freak storms lately, the area in front of the 7th grade village and the play area flooded for days, and field can stay wet for nearly a month. Another problem is the fact that teachers don't tell kids to shut up. Sometimes during "quiet study sessions" it can still get extremely loud and distracting. Ugh, I cant wait to go to high school, at least it isn't 20-30 years old with many fire dangers.

Posted: January 23, 2017

Although the homework is very tedious at times, the homework is effective and I feel like I'm learning

Posted: January 23, 2017

Some teachers are cruel, while others can be nice, sometimes too nice. Unfortunately, some teachers have no idea what to do or just don't care about the wellbeing of a individualized learning

Posted: January 23, 2017

This school teaches a very strict curriculum about character, almost to the point where it's just too much.

Posted: January 27, 2016

The reason why I rate it as Terrible just because don't like school lol :)

Posted: January 6, 2016

The teachers and yard duties don't really care at all. They just don't want to pick up your trash.

Posted: January 6, 2016

I went to this school for all 3 years and this is what I think.I feel like this school only gets good ratings from parents because they think that their child is doing well based on grades.Notice that all good comments are from parents.Well I can tell you that it is hard to get anything lower than a B.My homeroom teacher in 7th grade was terrible.She would run out of worksheets to pass out to people and never have any idea what was going on in the class.It got so bad near the end of the year that most if not all of the days we would sit and watch Netflix the entire 4 class periods that we were with her.In that entire year we only wrote 1 essay for her near the start of the year which never got corrected.I never remember her actually teaching.It would all just be worksheets that she never corrected.I feel like 7th grade was a TOTAL WASTE but I don't think that many other students beside me would complain about all day Netflix.I have gotten straight A's throughout middle school and I haven't even tried until this year because I am trying to prepare MYSELF for high school. So far my grades have been on average 109% in every class in 8th grade.I don't even remember doing any extra credit. P.E. is a mess - the lockers are tiny and most don't even have hinges on them. If you have a backpack that you are trying to stow there, you are screwed because there are less backpack lockers at MVMS than there were lifeboats for the sinking of the Titanic. The locker room is tight. This room is about the size as an apartment that should hold at max 30 people but Mesa Verde jams 100 sweaty boys (not as bad for girls - they get identical room across from this one.) into this room which is inhumane in my opinion. It is so bad that the P.E. teachers have to lock themselves into a room that has about 8 fans going constantly. It sucks and this school should be embarrassed. (Lice spreads rampant in there and disease is common) MV is also not prepared for any weather. There is almost no cover so you always get drenched going to class in rainy weather. They never fix their roofs so mold spreads all of the time and causes many students and teachers breathing problems and much sickness. The ceiling has even collapsed next to me in math because of the leakage problems and many times I have felt drips on me from the roof. That experience sucked and I am glad I can move on to High School.

Posted: December 10, 2015

Words cannot describe how wonderful this school is from the administration to the teachers, staff and students. 2 of my 3 boys attend(ed) school here and every other school pales in comparison. Shout out to Mr P. And Mr Strachan.

Posted: October 28, 2015

Well my son was in 6-8 there and never wants to leave that school! He loves the citizenship and the help that he needs. Unfortunate, he is off to high school and he was upset he even said why can't there be 6-12 grade there. He is now at westview high school and I highly reccomend those schools. I had never had a complaint coming from him! Well done Mesa verda! I love this school and I promise you will too! Make sure u have a great time at Mesa verda! You will thank me for this review

Posted: October 28, 2015

Posted: March 10, 2015

Currently enrolled as a 7th grader. This school is amazing. The education is one of the best in state. Most teachers are amazing. Managing my A+'s with no problem. Overall great school!

Posted: January 14, 2015

This is a horrible school. When I was in eighth grade at a different school I had all high As and Bs. When I transfered to this school I started getting low Cs and Ds. Teachers are not so great at teaching,there was more homework due to short periods (6 classes a day). There was also less time for tests because of the short periods. I was going to sleep at around 10 pm at my other school but here i went to sleep at 12 pm and STILL got bad grades. The teachers never believed me when I did something wrong that I wasn't aware that we weren't supposed to do this and that. I wasn't bullied but I saw a few bullies and teachers and "yard duties" did NOTHING about it. They seemed to care more about people leaving trash than kids getting bullied or hurt (because then they would have to pick up the trash). The reason this school does so well is because there are VERY studious and hardworking people here that are able to keep up the pace despite teacher's lack of help and a terrible school scheduel. -I was a student

Posted: December 15, 2013

A great school that has good and bad teachers. You can get an amazing teacher OR a terrible one, but most likely you'll get a good teacher They offer a WONDERFUL programming club, where you can learn how to build websites, and much, much more!

Posted: August 13, 2013

Hands down the most enthusiastic middle school teachers possible. The principal is wonderful, very caring and capable. So many great programs, especially music, in addition to impressive academics. Very good vibe here, not your typical middle school. Great neighborhoods all around, quality people. Love it here!

Posted: July 26, 2013

I agree with the comments of other parents, my child who had always been an honor student suffered a decline in grades while attending this school, particularly in 8th grade. There is a female 8th grade teacher who is incredibly cruel to her students. There is a lot of bullying in this school and Administration ignores it for the most part. Teachers do tend to blame children for their shortcomings.

Posted: April 8, 2013

The teaching here is antiquated. Teachers provide outdated handouts and worksheets on a regular basis, and almost no technology is taught or used in class. Where is the collaboration, problem solving and discourse that these higher level learners are capable of? Why so much rote teaching and rote homework? Why do a majority of the teachers have students grade other student's work in class? Much time is wasted on the great minds in this community. It is feasible to say that the high test scores are a result of the intrinsic knowledge the students bring with them, not the teaching. Ask your child how many hands-on, collaborative labs they complete in science each week, and if they are using multiple sources of evidence to support claims. It is sad.

Posted: March 17, 2013

In the three years my learning challenged child was there he was never once offered any type of help or service. Instead he was blamed as being lazy. The next school quickly identified a serious learning disorder and provided testing and services. The counselors comments to me and my son were disrespectful and ignorant. The teachers, especially in 8th grade were nothing short of cruel.

Posted: January 21, 2012

This school is truly amazing! I came to this beautiful academy in the 6th and sadly had to leave in the 8th. Those 3 years were the best I had ever experianced. I met tons of friends here and the teachers here are awesome! I love Mesa Verde, the parents, staff, teachers, and students. I greatly recommend this school to any other students or parents in the Poway Unified School District or any where else in San Diego County because, it is worth the drive. Have a thought about joining this school, because this school is wonderful. I cried when I left, 8 years ago.

#	Name	Type	City	State	Distance
1	Torrey Highlands	Neighborhood/Subdivision	San Diego	CA	0.9 mi
2	Spectrum Center Blvd, Kearny Mesa	Neighborhood/Subdivision	San Diego	CA	9.4 mi
3	Canyon View	Neighborhood/Subdivision	San Diego	CA	10.5 mi
4	La Costa	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Carlsbad	CA	11.8 mi
5	Rancho Carrillo	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Carlsbad	CA	12 mi
6	Santee Villas	Apartment Complex	Santee	CA	12.7 mi
7	Windsor at Aviara	Apartment Complex	Carlsbad	CA	12.9 mi
8	Del Cerro	Neighborhood/Subdivision	San Diego	CA	13.2 mi
9	Riverfront Condominium Rentals	Apartment Complex	San Diego	CA	13.4 mi
10	Mission Hills	Neighborhood/Subdivision	San Diego	CA	14.7 mi

#	Name	City	State	Distance
1	Torrey Highlands	San Diego	CA	0.9 mi
2	Mira Mesa	San Diego	CA	3 mi
3	Wine Country area of Scripps Ranch	San Diego	CA	5.3 mi
4	University City	San Diego	CA	7.9 mi
5	Encinitas	Encinitas	CA	9.9 mi
6	La Jolla	La Jolla	CA	10.8 mi
7	Serra Mesa	San Diego	CA	11.2 mi
8	Santee Trolley Square	Santee	CA	12.6 mi
9	Del Cerro	San Diego	CA	12.9 mi
10	Santee	Santee	CA	13.1 mi
11	Kensington	San Diego	CA	13.6 mi
12	Old Town	San Diego	CA	14.6 mi
13	Old Town San Diego	San Diego	CA	14.7 mi
14	Mission Hills	San Diego	CA	14.8 mi
15	East County of San Diego	La Mesa	CA	15.1 mi

Base	Distance
Miramar MCAS	6.1 mi.
MCRD San Diego	15.6 mi.
San Diego Naval Medical Center	16.1 mi.
North Island NAS	18.5 mi.
San Diego Naval Base	19.4 mi.
Coronado Naval Amphibious Base	19.8 mi.
Naval Base Point Loma	19.9 mi.
Camp Pendleton	30.8 mi.

Mesa Verde Middle School

San Diego, CA 92129

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Mesa Verde Middle School

San Diego, CA 92129

School Ratings

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