Twin Peaks Middle School in Poway | Military Town Advisor

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	8/10	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	3/10	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: October 22, 2024

Our oldest son went to school at Pomerado and Meadowbrook. I mention this because our experience at those schools were VERY different than our experience at Tierra Bonita and Twin Peaks with our two younger sons. The other reviews/comments regarding racism and bullying barely scratches the surface of what Tierra Bonita and Twin Peaks schools are like for minority and mixed-race kids. Our mixed-race sons are repeatedly called the N word (with the hard r) at both schools and to date, nothing has been done about it, except for meaningless "apologies" from the teachers/principals. The offending students are never suspended. Our boys have been physically hit, pushed, had objects thrown at them, etc., and nothing of substance is ever done to punish the offending students, even though some of these incidents occurred in the presence of teachers/staff!! How can you witness these things, have the nerve to call/email parents about it to "apologize", then do NOTHING about it?? We hear similar stories from other parents of minority kids. So we're removing our kids. I'm sure there will be lots of paperwork and nonsense to get our kids transferred to schools that are not our "assigned" schools, but Tierra Bonita and Twin Peaks are NOT safe schools for minority (especially Black) and mixed-race kids!!
I have no complaints about the schools' academics, sports, or anything else...however, the rampant racism and bullying overshadows anything good about these schools.

Posted: October 22, 2024

Posted: December 8, 2023

Twin Peaks has an environment where quite a few students feel comfortable openly saying the n word (hard r). This issue is ignored.

Posted: December 8, 2023

Posted: May 26, 2023

Teachers are amazing. Loosing confidence in administration.

Posted: May 26, 2023

Posted: October 20, 2022

I've had 4 kids go through Twin Peaks Middle School and the atmosphere has changed over the years with three different principals. I'd say my review is a mixed bag. There are some really amazing teachers currently there and some really amazing teachers that have since retired. The math teachers are exceptional in every way and always have been. The PE, science, history, and choir teachers have been wonderful too. My biggest concerns are with some of the language art, art, and ASB teachers and counselors. They are kind to the kids, but I wish I they weren't so pushy with their political, social, and woke agendas/world views. I've lost a lot of trust in them because their obvious world views conflict with some of our family's values. Needless to say, I took every opportunity to teach my kids correct/true principles to counter some of their radical influences. When I approached Principal Mills about this, he listened to me, but I don't think he did anything since the overt woke agendas from Language Arts teachers and the counselors continued and increased. I thought this was really disappointing. I recommend opting your kids out of all surveys, avoid ASB and the Leadership class, and just know that part of No Place For Hate week is code for LGBTQ/gender ideology indoctrination. Also, be sure to read the weekly updates all the way through because you'll see red flags along the way about progressive initiatives. Even though I opted my kids out of the human reproductive unit and taught that material at home instead, I was surprised to see some things slipped in by the school in other ways. This is simply not okay and not what middle school should be about. May we never go through a pandemic again either. TPMS administration, front desk, and Language Arts teachers handled the situation terribly with kids not wanting to wear masks after 2 years. Hopefully lessons were learned. Finally, I don't know why TPMS doesn't provide a crossing guard at the crazy Tierra Bonita/Twin Peaks intersection. It is such a liability and I worry about the unsupervised kids and all the cars. I pray for the kids' safety. Obviously, some things could be improved and hopefully the TPMS administration takes notice. Parents, please stay very involved with your kids' education. They need you!

Posted: October 20, 2022

Posted: April 20, 2022

The school atmosphere has improved a lot, and there are many excellent programs.

Posted: December 4, 2021

I have two children who have gone through middle school in Poway Unified, but only one went to Twin Peaks. This has allowed me to compare two local middle schools to each other. We have had a MUCH better experience at Twin Peaks. Both middle schools (BHMS) have really great teachers, however, the administration is so caring about the students at TPMS. My student really struggled during the pandemic and the vice principal, school counselor, and teachers went above and beyond to meet with us, reach out, and get resources we needed to bridge the gap created by the pandemic. We are so happy to be at Twin Peaks!

Posted: September 29, 2021

My husband and I did a great deal of research into schools back when I was pregnant with our first child years ago. The one thing we discovered is that no middle school in the entire county (at that time at least) received consistently stellar reviews. I chalk this up to middle school being an awkward, very difficult time of life for some students, but a fun, exciting time for other students. It's very mixed bag, and teachers I know personally (not at this school) have attested to the difficulty of teaching hormone-drenched adolescents transitioning toward semi-adulthood. Parents and their kids need to have realistic expectations of middle school. Many of the kids are no longer the sweet, compliant innocents they were in elementary school.

That being said, I think the new principal, Steve Mills, is doing a good job during a very challenging time (i.e. the pandemic). We have one child there, and her experience has been good overall. She preferred her elementary school to Twin Peaks, but the work was easier, she hadn't yet experienced the isolation and loss of fun brought on by COVID, and she was amongst younger kids. I don't blame anyone at Twin Peaks for the small group of rude and foul-mouthed boys my daughter encounters at times. The boys are careful not to misbehave in front of adults, and I honestly think you're going to have some students like that at any middle school other than at small parochial schools (maybe). Adolescence isn't a walk in the park for kids, their parents, or their teachers.

The teachers at this school are quite good and seem to be very committed to the kids. They are very responsive to emails from parents, and seem to have done the best they can to make 2020 and 2021 as normal as possible in spite of all the changes brought on by COVID-19. Middle school standards seem far more demanding than elementary school standards; the level of difficulty in the material, and the expectations on the students' performance seem much higher. It's a big jump up from elementary school overall. Twin Peaks has done a good job meeting all of those challenges overall.

Posted: September 29, 2021

Posted: February 17, 2021

Overall, a very positive experience. My son was at a private school before starting middle school at Twin Peaks. He was able to quickly meet new friends and hd no problem transitioning to a much larger school. The quality of teachers has exceeded my expectations. Many would go above and beyond to challenge the kids.

Posted: June 18, 2020

Life altering, terrible. I was ready to go to jail by a truancy officer than send my child back. We prevailed and never returned!

Posted: June 18, 2020

It is like throwing your child into a lions den protected by a spiders web of teachers and admin that enable each other. My child will be permanently scarred from attending this school and was pulled out in March 2020. I have an 18 year old that went here, same experience.

Posted: June 18, 2020

It is like throwing your child into a lions den protected by a spiders web of teachers and admin that enable each other. My child will be permanently scarred from attending this school and was pulled out in March 2020. I have an 18 year old that went here, same experience.

Posted: June 18, 2020

It is like throwing your child into a lions den protected by a spiders web of teachers and admin that enable each other. My child will be permanently scarred from attending this school and was pulled out in March 2020. I have an 18 year old that went here, same experience.

Posted: June 18, 2020

It is like throwing your child into a lions den protected by a spiders web of teachers and admin that enable each other. My child will be permanently scarred from attending this school and was pulled out in March 2020. I have an 18 year old that went here, same experience.

Posted: June 18, 2020

It is like throwing your child into a lions den protected by a spiders web of teachers and admin that enable each other. My child will be permanently scarred from attending this school and was pulled out in March 2020. I have an 18 year old that went here, same experience.

Posted: June 18, 2020

If you ask a counselor at this school what their bullying policy is; they will have no answer. Most are alumni or are related to the student body. They will not throw the book at any type of bullying incident because then they will be eating their own. Its the demographic. It will never change.

Posted: February 10, 2020

We moved here recently and were quickly impressed by the rigorous and creative education at this school. We moved here from northern California where there teachers only assigned textbook work and homework on worksheets. My child always has such an enthusiastic attitude when she gets home about all the neat things they've done in class that day. She has learned far more here than at her previous school. I've also been very impressed by the high level of technology use on this campus. Our daughter has learned how to use multiple different applications in such a short time and she can talk about what she knows in multiple different ways. It's fantastic! Love this school and our new community.

Posted: February 10, 2020

Posted: January 22, 2020

Lots of room for improvements, so perhaps something should be done about it.

Posted: December 20, 2019

There are a handful of kids that bully or are extremely rude little punks- they get sent to the office but nothing happens. They sit for five minutes and go right back to lunch or class with no repercussions. This is not an exaggeration.

Posted: December 20, 2019

My children overall like heir teachers and the material they are learning, but there are some major flaws that the current Principal and Vice Principals need to address. Mostly the lack of disrespect from the students. Obviously parents first and foremost need to teach their children how to behave themselves, and obviously that is a huge issue not being handled at home. The school needs to spend more time contacting parents ANYTIME their student is sent to the office. The campus is falling apart, the kids dont clean up after themselves, and so the environment is lackluster.

Posted: December 20, 2019

Homework is busy work. There is a block schedule so kids get almost two hours in class- they should have plenty of time to complete the work. I have a Gate student that is always on task(has always kept a 4.0 GPA), but still spends hours a week on homework. Its ridiculous.

Posted: December 20, 2019

My two children that currently attend this school overall like their teachers, but its the other students that have bad behavior in class(and out), that dont make learning effective for them. Its a huge distraction to the students who want to learn and the teachers never seem to discipline them.

Posted: December 20, 2019

The kids that are doing well dont get any kind of recognition, and there is a huge problem with blatant disrespect from so many of the students(towards teachers, students and faculty). I work on campus and see it daily. Nothing happens, there is no punishment, so kids have no reason to try and be better.

Posted: December 20, 2019

There is ASB, but its unclear what their role is other than they get to hang out together during RAM time. Otherwise there is no opportunity to lead. Its disappointing.

Posted: December 20, 2019

I dont have any information on this subject.

Posted: August 28, 2019

Posted: May 27, 2019

They make sure your homework is done and even have a 40 minute period for you to work on your homework/

Posted: May 27, 2019

Teachers will see students before class or after class if the are having difficulty with a subject and help them.

Posted: May 27, 2019

They allow students with learning difficulties to be in the same classroom, they just have a special teacher with them to help them.

Posted: May 27, 2019

there are many posters around the school saying "see something say something" which really help any people who see bullying to confess without telling who they are.

Posted: May 27, 2019

I would say this is a great school. The teachers really put themselves in the students shoes and are very generous.

Posted: June 13, 2018

Since the staff don't demonstrate this it is not likely that they encourage these behaviors in the students.

Posted: June 13, 2018

The only thing they do is send annoying voicemail/email updates. Other than that you can't speak with them.

Posted: June 13, 2018

Absolutely not! My child was in the special education program an never met with his case manager. All they do is fill out the IEP paperwork to make it look like they are doing their job.

Posted: June 13, 2018

I have no opinion about this. My child did not have issues socially.

Posted: June 13, 2018

Instructions aren't clear. Sometimes homework is not connected to class work.

Posted: June 13, 2018

Teachers were uncommunicative, uncooperative and uncaring. They didn't take the time to explain things or offer assistance.

Posted: June 13, 2018

We moved here mid-year and intentionally picked Poway because we heard the schools were glad. We feel totally deceived. They could have cared less about our child and made no effort what so ever to help him settle into his new school. I found the teachers to be uncaring and unhelpful and I don't know why they have a special education program, because it doesn't appear they do anything but process paperwork. I wouldn't recommend this school at all.

Posted: May 13, 2018

I mostly learned quite a bit from my teachers, and found their classes quite effective (with a few exceptions). But the Language Arts Program failed me all three years. I barely even touched on the topic of grammar, which I was already quite lacking in. Now many of these skills are required of me, and I never learned them. I dont know if this is a state, district, or school issue but English was a complete waste of time at this school.

Posted: May 13, 2018

I happened to participate in a leadership program at my time at twin peaks, and never actually did any leading of sorts. I can only recall once doing something leadership worthy in the slightest. They poorly plan spirit days, in which no one participates in. And in reality, the winners of the ASB elections are often the most popular kids in school, not the ones best fit to lead.

Posted: May 13, 2018

I was not bullied at this school, and I knew how to handle myself if I was put in any difficult situations.
Many of my friends were, however, and the school really doesnt help kids with those issues at the school. Also, many teachers have difficulties with students with anxiety issues, and dont know how to deal with a meltdown of sorts. Teachers need to be better educated on how to treat a child with anxiety issues, as it can greatly impact their school experience.

Posted: May 13, 2018

This school was average. I would not recommend going here if you need extra help or more push with learning. I am not well educated in the topic of needing assistance with learning, but from being a student I know that the GATE program barely exists, and I would recommend going to Meadowbrook Academy (not the school proper) for more learning opportunities. The english program was a flop, and was a mix of many different subjects (learning about history, doing a project on science and technology, etc). The science program was great, but many of the teachers barely made the classes interesting, or even tried to in the least. These are the years we as students are learning what we like and what we dont, and thinking of future careers. If a class is not fun and engaging, the student may not be interested in what may have been their favorite topic with another teacher. For example my sixth grade science class taught me absolutely nothing, and I was bored to death. However seventh grade science was fun and engaging, and one of the things I learned in that class is what I would like to pursue. The band program is underfunded, as the school doesnt understand the cost and need of equipment, repairs, reeds, sheet music, and many many other things. I loved my band teacher, though class was a bit stressful at times. If I hadnt had him as a teacher, I probably would have quit. The math program was good for me, but I was in the Advanced Math, and dont know how the normal classes are. My eighth grade math teacher was by far the best, though his class is the only class I got a B in (out of all three years). My two teachers before I learned nothing from, and had lots of difficulty remembering anything I did in seventh and sixth grade when I started eight grade. Many other children were at my disadvantage as well, and had to be retainer many concepts. I had amazing History teachers all three years, and couldnt have asked for a change. Please remember this is a personal opinion and not fact, and I am a student still so if I have any grammatical or spelling errors, take it easy on me!

Posted: May 13, 2018

Many times a teacher will assign either minimal homework or 2-3 hours worth. Its pretty consistent per teacher (as in 1a and b math I was assigned ~1.5 hours worth and in History in 8th grade I rarely received any). However, some teachers are jumpy with their workload, one day walking out with no homework and other days with a 5-6 hour project due the next week.

Posted: March 7, 2018

Our A student child was harassed and bullied. They have a serious problem and it is evident that the kids that go there live in a pressure cooker. There are some really nasty kids at this school. Avoid if possible.

Posted: February 26, 2018

I've had 4 kids attend. It's a great prep for high school

Posted: February 26, 2018

Posted: February 19, 2018

From my time as a student here, I quickly realized that we had some of the very best teachers. The academics here are rigorous, which means.a lot of work for me, but it was well worth it when I got to Poway High and I was more than prepared unlike some of the kids from meadowbrook . Twin Peaks is the best!!

Posted: February 19, 2018

Posted: October 4, 2017

I went to this school from 1997-1998, and judging from comments on here, nothing has improved. I had some wonderful teachers, but my overall experience was unfavorable.

Posted: October 4, 2017

I was bullied at this school, and while I did nothing, I had teachers that saw this happen and ignored it. The only person who stood up for me was a substitute teacher.

Posted: December 1, 2016

My two special needs students were repeatedly bullied BY THE TEACHERS. In addition, one teacher encouraged my son's classmates to stay away from him and refused to give him a science lab partner because he (the teacher) believed that any student who chose to be my son's friend would be ostracized.

Posted: December 1, 2016

While the special ed staff did their best, I could tell pretty quickly that there was no love lost between them and the teachers. Since the teachers interact with children on a daily basis, it is obviously they who need to support students with learning differences, and they do not. Instead they discipline students who do not understand and tell them to "get with the program." Teachers here do not understand the difference between a disability and disobedience, and don't care to learn. My special needs children were treated better in an impoverished inner city school district than they were in this suburban middle class one.

Posted: December 1, 2016

I had little to no interaction with school leadership above the level of teachers, special education staff, and administrative assistants, despite my repeated attempts to get help for my struggling special needs students.

Posted: December 1, 2016

They have signs up about things like integrity, compassion, and respect, but teachers do not display any of these characteristics. Instead they are rude disciplinarians who make no attempt to help a student who is falling behind, even when the student, the parent, or even other staff members request it.

Posted: December 1, 2016

Teachers use power point presentations and interact with students very little. All teachers told parents at Back to School Night that they have hundreds of students, and would likely not know your child by name. They also do not understand or comply when a child needs alternative instruction or extra help, and discipline the child for their inability to understand the information.

Posted: December 1, 2016

Homework is overly time-consuming, even for bright students. Students are required to have "interactive notebooks" in all academic subjects, which must all look identical, and these notebooks are graded with higher point values than tests.

Posted: December 1, 2016

If you have a child with any kind of academic or behavioral special need, look elsewhere. We are a Navy family recently stationed in San Diego, and we chose to live in Poway for the great schools. Unfortunately this isn't one of them. The special ed staff, I believe, did their best by my kids, both of whom have autism and related disorders. But the teachers, who interact with the students daily, were appalling. My son's 6th grade science teacher told me directly, in a meeting with other staff members, that he didn't make any of his classmates be my son's lab partner because "who would want to? He has no friends, and if someone chose to be his friends, their other friends who drop him." The band teacher punished my son for sitting down to calm himself in a frustrating situation. The punishment was "lunch period detention" in which my son was required to come to the band teacher's room instead of getting lunch that day, and sit and do absolutely nothing for the period instead. The band teacher refused to allow my son to get his lunch, and thus my son had no food from 7AM-3:30PM. My daughter's 7th grade Language Arts teacher chose not to communicate with my daughter, the counselor or special ed staff, or myself about her declining grades, even after I initiated communication via email and requested her to. She also chose not to update my daughter's grades in the school's web site program that allows parents/students to see their grades on assignments. Parents are repeatedly encouraged to use the program, but she did not comply with this. Instead, at the end of the first quarter, she finally updated the program with a month's worth of my daughter's grades AFTER she submitted her final grade for the quarter. So my daughter had no opportunity to improve her grades because they'd already been submitted. This teacher later claimed by email that she wasn't receiving the emails I'd sent , and that she had updated the system. My kids were repeatedly sent to the principal/counselor and told to "get with the program." In short, teachers here have a fundamental misunderstanding of the difference between disability and disobedience. In addition, my son's doctor said that we are the 4th family she knows who chose to remove their child from this school for similar reasons. Even a secretary from the office said she wouldn't send her child there.We left at the end of October.

Posted: March 23, 2015

RUDE! Heard my child complain of staff being rude, but dismissed it. That changed after what I personally witnessed. As I was picking up my child in the office and she was approaching me, a staff member came rushing out of a side office with her head down looking at some files. She ran smack in to my daughter. My daughter's immediate reaction was "oh - I'm sorry!". The woman stopped, gave my daughter a very dirty look, did not return the apology, then stopped to tell a secretary "did you just see what she did?". This woman made no attempt to exchange apologies with my daughter, then had the nerve to stand staring at her as if she had been wronged somehow, I praised my daughter for reacting with kindness and assured her she did nothing wrong, as I witnessed the entire event. How sad that this school would hire people that are so openly rude to children. Shouldn't you actually LIKE children to work at a school? I would like that woman to slam in to me out of nowhere - I would be much more of a match for such a rude reaction to her own mistake! Too bad they do not feel that children deserve the respect of common courtesy!

Posted: May 15, 2014

We no longer attend this school. It has one of the worst reputations for bullying and not responding to parents in that regard, even with the new principal. They are more concerned with covering their bottoms that attending to serious issues. Our child was bullied by a teacher and it had life changing consequences for us. Beware. There are some exceptional teachers here and some teachers who should be fired for misconduct. I hear better things about the other PUSD middle schools.

Posted: April 30, 2014

My daughter had a wonderful experience at TP and my son who is currently at TP is excelling! There are some extraordinary teachers at this school who love kids and want them to succeed....there are only a few (minimal) who only 'teach' and do not work 'with' kids...as each child is different. I believe that the principal Dr. Burke (who has kids of her own) loves kids, wants them to succeed, and will make any changes necessary so that TP builds good, solid, human beings.

Posted: June 23, 2013

Elementary to middle school is a rough transition for our children. Twin Peaks was a terrible experience for my daughter. There is little to NO discipline and a lack of authority. Some kids have NO values, my daughter was sexually harassed by text messaging, with VERY vulgar comments. I went to the principal and reported it, they seemed to take it seriously but the kids were never even suspended when my daughter was suspended for a day for keeping someone's cell phone for too long and not wanting to give it back, which "they" interpreted as stealing and wrote it in her file. I requested them to write objective facts and they ignored my request. The kid AGREED for her to use it. The actions don't compare to one another. In my opinion sexual harassment is much worse, but little was done. I encourage you to sit outside the school before you enroll your kid and observe the way girls are dressed even though there is a NO shorts, spaghetti straps policy. As you can imagine, the bullying is out of control. It is a mess.

Posted: June 10, 2013

My daughter has just finished 6th grade at this school, and it has been a nightmare! I feel sorry for all the upcoming fifth graders coming next year, as they have NO idea what they're in for. I cannot blame it 100% on the teachers and leadership, but their professionalism and performance leave a lot to be desired.

#	Name	Type	City	State	Distance
1	Torrey Highlands	Neighborhood/Subdivision	San Diego	CA	7.5 mi
2	Santee Villas	Apartment Complex	Santee	CA	9.3 mi
3	Spectrum Center Blvd, Kearny Mesa	Neighborhood/Subdivision	San Diego	CA	12.3 mi
4	Canyon View	Neighborhood/Subdivision	San Diego	CA	12.4 mi
5	Canyon Run Apartments	Apartment Complex	El Cajon	CA	13 mi
6	Del Cerro	Neighborhood/Subdivision	San Diego	CA	13.9 mi
7	Rancho Carrillo	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Carlsbad	CA	15.3 mi
8	La Costa	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Carlsbad	CA	16 mi
9	Riverfront Condominium Rentals	Apartment Complex	San Diego	CA	16.4 mi
10	Windsor at Aviara	Apartment Complex	Carlsbad	CA	17.1 mi
11	Lakeview Village Apartments	Apartment Complex	Spring Valley	CA	17.2 mi

#	Name	City	State	Distance
1	Wine Country area of Scripps Ranch	San Diego	CA	4.7 mi
2	Mira Mesa	San Diego	CA	7 mi
3	Torrey Highlands	San Diego	CA	7.5 mi
4	Santee Trolley Square	Santee	CA	10 mi
5	Santee	Santee	CA	10.2 mi
6	University City	San Diego	CA	13.2 mi
7	El Cajon	El Cajon	CA	13.3 mi
8	Del Cerro	San Diego	CA	13.4 mi
9	Serra Mesa	San Diego	CA	13.8 mi
10	East County of San Diego	La Mesa	CA	14.6 mi
11	Kensington	San Diego	CA	15.3 mi
12	Encinitas	Encinitas	CA	15.7 mi
13	La Jolla	La Jolla	CA	16.8 mi
14	Rancho San Diego	El Cajon	CA	16.9 mi

Base	Distance
Miramar MCAS	9.4 mi.
San Diego Naval Medical Center	18.6 mi.
MCRD San Diego	19.2 mi.
San Diego Naval Base	21.2 mi.
North Island NAS	21.9 mi.
Coronado Naval Amphibious Base	22.4 mi.
Naval Base Point Loma	23.7 mi.
Camp Pendleton	33.6 mi.

Twin Peaks Middle School

Poway, CA 92064

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Twin Peaks Middle School

Poway, CA 92064

School Ratings

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