Merrill Middle School

Posted: June 12, 2026

Exceptional school with outstanding leadership. The faculty truly care about their job and have pride in their school. There community is engaged, and they encourage an inclusive environment.

All of the staff at our Elena school wanted their children to go to Merrill, it was immediately apparent just why. Kudos!

Posted: June 12, 2026

Posted: June 12, 2026

Posted: June 12, 2026

Posted: June 12, 2026

Posted: June 12, 2026

Posted: June 12, 2026

Posted: February 9, 2023

We decided to move here after our homeschool, which is a half a block away has 85% of the kids bussed in which has resulted in bullying on the girl side.

Merrill seems to be a great fit. Our daughter has made some great friends, seems to be thriving in school.
Parents are involved. Those who complain are probably not involved.

Of course, there are always some issues with teachers. One or two that don’t seem to want to be there.
School leadership seems to be top notch and headed in the right direction.

Our daughter’s education is thriving.

For the reviewer who had a weird comment about the food? Who cares how you cut the pizza if you don’t like the food, pack their lunch. Just be happy that they are serving lunch to the kids.

Like any middle school, my daughter has noticed smoking. But we taught her stay away from those kids

Posted: February 9, 2023

Posted: January 30, 2023

Posted: January 30, 2023

Posted: January 30, 2023

Posted: January 30, 2023

This school has terrible bathrooms the teachers yell at the students with 504 plans and people vape in the bathroom. One person in the office accidentally pressed the distress drill button and put the school in a fake lockdown causing emotional distress causing panic attacks and other emotions. we get fewer rights than the principal's daughter for no reason. And the lunch sucks the chicken sandwiches are stale the burger patties are weirdly bumpy. And the pizza is cut with scissors. And a student who I will not name was sent to another school because of the assault he made. But The teaching is good.

Posted: January 30, 2023

Posted: January 30, 2023

Posted: January 30, 2023

Posted: January 30, 2023

Posted: March 14, 2022

Bullying just as bad as the stories you hear from long ago even in 2021/22. Too many kids running wild and not enough staff to see all that happens. The kids doing the bullying, and I mean hurting, hitting, not punished and no respect for staff. No one talking to the kids about this not being OK.

A few great teachers and hate to lump them into this, but overall staff not paying enough attention. No idea about homework, could only focus on kid not being hurt.

Posted: March 14, 2022

Posted: March 14, 2022

Posted: March 14, 2022

Posted: March 14, 2022

Posted: March 14, 2022

Posted: March 7, 2022

as a kid here it is safe to say that this school sucks with terrible sanitation,food,staff,and people. sure your kid will learnit isnt worth moving here

Posted: March 7, 2022

Posted: March 7, 2022

Posted: March 7, 2022

Posted: March 7, 2022

Posted: March 7, 2022

Posted: March 7, 2022

Posted: March 7, 2022

Posted: September 1, 2019

Dr Sylvester is the current principal and she and her Asst Ms Patrice Underwood have turned the school around from what is was under previous leadership. They are in the hallways, know every student, and prioritize well.

Posted: September 1, 2019

My child has a 17 pg IEP. While at time the team struggles in creation and implementation of the best iep, they listen to expert and parent feedback, incorporate the family in the planning process, and are continually striving to have a great IEP team in every grade.

Posted: September 1, 2019

This is a very diverse school and despite having its usual share of more challenging kids, my child feels safe and respected at school. This is the culture here and it shows.

Posted: September 1, 2019

Teachers work together to ensure Math and ELA are priority and that homework load is balanced

Posted: September 1, 2019

These teachers are passionate and excited and clearly enjoy their school culture.

Posted: September 1, 2019

Posted: September 1, 2019

I am pleasantly surprised. I moved my kiddo here after leaving a charter school that was not meeting her needs. They said they could be a great fit for a kiddo like mine and lo and behold they are. They are honest and communicative, take feedback well, striving to do well by their staff and their families, and it shows. Great team, don’t mind the older reviews when the school was under different leadership. They’re current team - 2018/19/20, since we’ve been there, is fantastic.

Posted: July 31, 2017

Our 6th grade son had a wonderful experience last year and is looking forward to returning this fall.

Posted: July 31, 2017

Posted: July 31, 2017

Posted: July 31, 2017

Posted: July 31, 2017

Posted: July 31, 2017

Posted: July 31, 2017

Posted: June 14, 2015

The school has a lot of diversity and some good teachers, but some of the teachers (especially temporary teachers) don’t seem to care much. I’ve heard several reports of teachers not being able to control their students and then becoming frustrated and not teaching, just handing out paperwork with no classroom instruction on how to complete the assignments. Also, the administration does not plan very well. For example, there were not enough yearbooks to go around (I'm thinking, can't students pay up front and then the school orders the books, so they know how many to order?). Also, student behavior needs improvement, as there seems to be a handful of students who cause a lot of distraction that negatively impacts learning (kids stealing things out of gym lockers, students acting out in class, some bullying, etc.). On a positive note, there is extra help available some Saturday mornings throughout the school year, and the most of teachers are caring and professional.

Posted: June 14, 2015

The school has a lot of diversity and some good teachers, but some of the teachers (especially temporary teachers) don’t seem to care much. I’ve heard several reports of teachers not being able to control their students and then becoming frustrated and not teaching, just handing out paperwork with no classroom instruction on how to complete the assignments. Also, the administration does not plan very well. For example, there were not enough yearbooks to go around (I'm thinking, can't students pay up front and then the school orders the books, so they know how many to order?). Also, student behavior needs improvement, as there seems to be a handful of students who cause a lot of distraction that negatively impacts learning (kids stealing things out of gym lockers, students acting out in class, some bullying, etc.). On a positive note, there is extra help available some Saturday mornings throughout the school year, and the most of teachers are caring and professional.

Posted: June 14, 2015

The school has a lot of diversity and some good teachers, but some of the teachers (especially temporary teachers) don’t seem to care much. I’ve heard several reports of teachers not being able to control their students and then becoming frustrated and not teaching, just handing out paperwork with no classroom instruction on how to complete the assignments. Also, the administration does not plan very well. For example, there were not enough yearbooks to go around (I'm thinking, can't students pay up front and then the school orders the books, so they know how many to order?). Also, student behavior needs improvement, as there seems to be a handful of students who cause a lot of distraction that negatively impacts learning (kids stealing things out of gym lockers, students acting out in class, some bullying, etc.). On a positive note, there is extra help available some Saturday mornings throughout the school year, and the most of teachers are caring and professional.

Posted: June 14, 2015

The school has a lot of diversity and some good teachers, but some of the teachers (especially temporary teachers) don’t seem to care much. I’ve heard several reports of teachers not being able to control their students and then becoming frustrated and not teaching, just handing out paperwork with no classroom instruction on how to complete the assignments. Also, the administration does not plan very well. For example, there were not enough yearbooks to go around (I'm thinking, can't students pay up front and then the school orders the books, so they know how many to order?). Also, student behavior needs improvement, as there seems to be a handful of students who cause a lot of distraction that negatively impacts learning (kids stealing things out of gym lockers, students acting out in class, some bullying, etc.). On a positive note, there is extra help available some Saturday mornings throughout the school year, and the most of teachers are caring and professional.

Posted: January 19, 2015

Don't go! First you might think its a really good school when you come in but that's because the teachers change their whole personality to make it look like your actually doing work. I've seen that with all teachers as a student. They are also separated which is totally pointless recess and lunch is time to socialize with your friends, your better off going to an all girls or boys school.Just today we had a basket ball game and their not letting you stay unless you have a parent. They completely don't trust us. The kids graffiti on the school. And the bathrooms. There is way too Much fighting and drama. In One week we can have 5 fights but they won't do anything. Just tell us to stop. They are creating all of these rules that are completly unnecessary and uneeded. They care about our dress code and rules more than the actual education. For your best do not take your kid here. The principle won't even be here all of the time its all Mr.stringer (kudos) but still mr franklin has no point in his job but to make kids feel bad about themselfs. ( I made a new friend and he told me that I changed and I needed to change back) he is not responsible of my personality.don't go!

Posted: January 18, 2015

I had high hopes for Merrill and my child did well the 6th grade year. However, now there is basically no homework every night-none, zippo, zilch, nada. My child also remarked this year that the teachers all seem unhappy and a few seem to go overboard with punishments (i.e. if you speak one word while the teacher is speaking, you will be written up). The school has a restricted dress code and the administration spends a lot of time riding students for that (no sweats policy is one-unless they have pockets-however, most boys are allowed to wear any sweats. Leggings aren't permitted-why not allow them if a shirt is worn to cover the rear). My child also complains about kids in the classroom acting out and disrupting learning. Then the teacher has to repeatedly keep attention on these kids. At times, the entire class is punished because of the group of kids that cause the trouble. Overall, this does not equal a good learning environment for my child and we are looking elsewhere. I do have to give kudos to Mr. Stringer. He works his b*** off. If one were to come to the school repeatedly, they'd probably think he was the principal.

Posted: April 29, 2014

This school has been trying to turn itself around but still has some significant hurdles. There are frequent teacher absences; my son has a list of his 'favorite subs.' One day he had 4 subs. Teachers disappear without explanation, are pulled out of class when they are about to give a lesson. Surely this can be orchestrated better. The kids lose out.

Posted: April 26, 2014

Merrill was great. I graduated from there last year and miss everything about it. It also prepared me for high school in an IB program. I really appreciated the fact that it is a diverse and cultural community school. I don't understand any of the negative responses on this website. It made me want to write the truth about Merrill and the truth is that it is an AWESOME school. The teachers are the BEST!

Posted: April 26, 2014

Merrill Middle School has been wonderful for our entire family. My kids have been taught how to think and grow into themselves as individuals. The teachers are top-notch and go above and beyond to reach each student. TCAP scores don't rate these qualities and although TCAP scores at Merrill are high and improving - these are qualities that are important to consider. I am a proud parent of Merrill and am grateful for the wonderful experience it provided for my kids.

Posted: April 26, 2014

Merrill school is full of caring professionals that work hard to make Merrill a welcoming place where students can succeed. I like that so many different cultures are part of the school community. I would recommend Merrill as a DPS Middle School.

Posted: March 18, 2014

The leadership of Merrill is totally insensitive to the individual student and teachers. I always wonder what is "broken" at a school with a high turn over rate of teachers. The DPS administration needs to take a close look at the Principal. I understand she rules with threats and fear. The Principal needs to be re-placed immediately!!!! As a taxpayer I resent a sub-human person interacting with "our" children.

Posted: March 14, 2014

The worst school ever teacher and principal at Merrill don't care about your student. They promise so many changes and nothing never happens it just keeps getting worst. I would not recommend this so to my worst enemies it's just simply awful in every aspect specially academics.

Posted: February 22, 2014

I love this school! You can be yourself and you don't have to try and fit in because it happens naturally. All of the teachers try really hard to teach you and they help you understand the lessons. The principal and vice principal are always right in top of things and the counselor is amazing. You can go to her anytime of day and talk about how you are feeling. You don't have to worry about bullying because there are so many different ethnic groups there, that you get used to seeing different people. They now serve breakfast in the first period class so everybody gets a chance to eat. During winter (now) they have the heaters going in all of the classrooms. I absolutely love this school and I will continue to go here.

Posted: February 4, 2014

This is the worst school ever my child gets bullied and nothing is done. Nothing but racist and disrespectful and immature children and adults are in this school. Graffiti is done in the bathroom, children bully each other and because teachers hate there jobs they take it out on the students. My child doesn't learn anything and because of the environment she cant. DO NOT ATTEND THIS SCHOOL!

Posted: September 15, 2012

this school is bad alout of bullying alout of kids are bad there and arent nice each kid only hangs out with his kind like aisan kids only hang out with aisan kids etc dont send your kid there