East Middle School in Aurora | Military Town Advisor

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	1/10	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 Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) data from Colorado Department of Education.
Student Growth	1/10	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 - CO CMAS - Cohort-referenced data from Colorado Department of Education, and using 2025 Student Growth - CO PSAT/SAT - Cohort-referenced data from Colorado Department of Education.

Posted: August 8, 2025

Worst three years of my life. Sent two of my kids here and the staff was horrible as well as the principal. They took no accountability of what was going on. Had the assistant principal harass my daughter because I made a complaint reported it to the district and got laughed at reported it to HR nothing was done. Everyone there is somehow connected to a higher up. Take your kids somewhere else.

Posted: August 8, 2025

Posted: January 24, 2025

Its just not what I expected so much swearing

Posted: January 24, 2025

Posted: September 24, 2024

They have to get bad stuff because they take your backpack and gets your money in your backpack

Posted: September 24, 2024

Posted: March 31, 2024

Teachers at this school are the most unprofessional adults I have ever seen in education or any field for that matter. They act like the students they complain about. As a fellow educator who used to work there, it was embarrassing seeing how they behave in the halls and at meetings. They bully, they talk about other adults in the hall which students then repeat, they form cliques like high school students, and talk down to students. I think there are some teachers who really care about the community but several have been there too long and are self serving. The teachers there will say their peers leave because of leadership (every leader that has been there apparently is not good enough) but the reality is they leave because of colleagues behavior that affects the toxic climate and leadership does nothing about it. There are teachers who wont honor pronouns, or students identities. There are teachers who verbally abuse students. There are teachers who make racist comments in class. Again, there are teachers who are great and open but those are only a handful and many are leaving. Student behavior will never improve at East because teachers arent open to grow or learn to help improve outcomes. Middle school is hard, so its sad that the adults make it harder. Until there are consequences for staff behavior, the climate will never change.

Posted: January 17, 2024

Sadly, this school is headed toward disaster under the current leadership of principal Jacquelyn Brown. Her incompetence and need to micromanage all aspects of the school and staff members jobs (yet failure to be able to manage anything) has led to a culture that is so toxic that I fear most of the teaching staff will be leaving before next school year. On multiple occasions, she has even told her staff that if they didn't like it, maybe East wasn't the place for them- and this was when shed only been there a year and speaking to a veteran staff who had mostly been there over 10 years. This is especially concerning since she has been unable to fill many positions in the school. Because of poor management, she couldn't hire an entire team of 8th grade teachers, resulting in high class sizes. Also, the entire team of ELD teachers are long term subs, as are two of the six science teachers. Most of the teachers she did hire last summer have already quit due to the bullying from administrators and the negative culture created by Mrs. Brown and her administrative team. The district seems to be aware of the poor culture yet don't seem willing to do anything about it, except to place APS's chief academic officer's husband into an assistant principal role where he has done nothing but make the culture worse. The last time the district even asked the East staff what they needed was when they ignored the principal hiring committee who thought a different candidate would be better, and stuck put Mrs. Brown, the district coordinators friend in the position.
Teachers at this school work hard, love their students and their community, and try their best to do what's right for their students. Making more demands and trying to micromanage their actions and take away their autonomy does nothing but hurt teachers and also the students. Leadership should try to empower teachers, not talk down to them, make more and more demands and dismiss their concerns. Because of this, many of the best teachers are likely to leave the school to go somewhere where they are treated as professionals and valued. If you are a teacher considering applying to East, beware. I would wait until the admin has changed. If you are a parent considering East, beware that there may be more substitutes than teachers. I wish I could say better things because East has a history of being an amazing school for staff and students alike, but unfortunately it isn't right now. I hope one day it will be again.

Posted: January 17, 2024

Posted: August 22, 2023

Sending my son to East was by far the best decision I could have made. He loves school and is constantly challenged to do his best.
Homework
This school has an effective approach to homework:
I worried that my child would have too much homework but that is not the case. My child reads daily, practices spelling words, and occasionally has math homework.
Teachers
Teachers at this school are effective:
My child's teachers have challenged him to always do his best.
Leadership
Leadership at this school is effective:
The new principal has excellent communication with parents. She has come in this year with open ears valuing the input she receives from parents. The assistant principal is so kind and always ready to listen to any parent concerns.
Learning Differences
This school effectively supports students with learning differences:
My son is challenged to preform at his personal best and never pressured to perform at a higher level than he is capable.
Bullying
This school effectively deals with bullying:
The administration and staff do not tolerate bullying

Posted: August 22, 2023

Posted: August 19, 2023

Man, I love this school, this is my last year at east and I've been living the life on this school. The teachers I've had are really chill and laid-back. The sports teams are really good like their Track, Soccer and Wrestling team. I've made a lot of friends from this school and has made me surprised since. I wanna say thanks Ms. Green for being coach and a really nice person. Mr. Rothert is an amazing teacher like if you get along with him it's an awesome bond with him. Mrs. Jenni is that all around teacher she is such a kind hearted person I'll never see a teacher like her. Mr. Olson Imma miss you you've been my favorite teacher this whole school and I remember talking about soccer with you, you were more than a teacher. These teachers are willing to push their kids at their full potential and I'm all here for it.

Posted: August 19, 2023

Posted: April 4, 2022

One of the best schools my child has went to even tho school is hard for her she never complains about rude teachers but she always talks about how nice everyone is and how bullying and unacceptable things are always handled fast...

Posted: August 21, 2018

To be honest, when a student falls behind, it's usually their fault. A teacher can only do so much. Of course, some teachers could do better, and those who had difficult classes or high expectations offered a variety of ways to help students understand and catch up. Students of all caliber used these methods, from straight A's to those barely passing. If a student didn't take it upon themselves to use these resources, there's nothing to say. The classes were different levels too. Some were Advanced, some average, some below average. Sadly, some teachers didn't take it upon themselves to help students out. Still, most teachers were willing to help students from different level groups.

Posted: August 21, 2018

Most teachers aren't aware of some bullying, even if they feel very strongly about it. The students at this school are effective at hiding, and being in their young teens, many of them don't have enough self-confidence to speak up. When there are bullying cases, students will be changed to different lunches or class periods (the one changes out is usually the offender). If given the chance though, I think that some teachers would certainly be able to crack down on a bullying case.

Posted: August 21, 2018

Some teachers were really hard working when it came to homework. They had calendars, before and after school (and during lunch) tutoring. Some of them had weekly homework and others daily. There were some teachers who didn't bother, but I was lucky enough to have teachers who cared about their students, even if the homework sometimes piled up.

Posted: August 21, 2018

One teacher was fired because they only sat in class and did nothing. But many teachers (who actually ended up having to leave though) were extremely effective. My Advanced Math and Literacy teachers in sixth grade were the most effective teachers I've ever met.

Posted: August 21, 2018

Sadly, this is a straight up no. I wish I could say that it was only a minority of the students are misbehaving and rude people, but the large majority of my grade made offensive comments of all types, and many students weren't above doing things behind the teachers back. Despite this, there were a handful of individuals that were definitely above the rest in these traits and I am quite proud of them.

Posted: August 21, 2018

It is... difficult. There are many teachers who take control of their classes, and the campus monitors are nothing to sniff at. The new (and now gone) principle, Ms. Houston, tried her best. She was really good for the school, incredibly so, but still, my year of classmates are definitely one of the most, if not the most, difficult groups East has ever faced.

Posted: August 21, 2018

It's complicated. As a student, I have to say it wasn't all bad. Maybe this is because I had more dedicated teachers, but I truly believe that your experience in this school depends on the student. It's not well funded and not all the needs can be met. Some teachers definitely don't belong in a classroom. But the large majority of the student body ruins the experience for themselves. And those who seek help are ruined by them. It needs to become stricter, even though most students would, well, revolt. This school needs less students, more room, more staff, better equipment, all that stuff. But even if I was once physically assaulted by another student while I walked to my language class, and if another student continuously cursed me out when I nodded at her in hello, I don't think this is the worst school. Even if the fights made me run past in a hurry to get to a safer place or one kid was arrested for threatening to 'shoot up' the school, it's mostly the students fault. Many teachers were reduced to shredded vocal cords and tears because students won't listen. It's not always the teachers fault. The mentality of the students needs to be changed. But some teachers are amazing, such as Mr. Wolner, Ms. Green, Mr. Day, Ms. Smith, Mrs. Guajardo, and Mr. Fountain, and so many more. Sadly, East has lost a lot of great teachers, such as Mrs. Park, Mrs. (Ellen) Lewis, Ms. Pompey, Mrs. Seaver, and more. The school needs a reform, and it's mostly for the students to change.

Posted: May 9, 2018

It seems many teachers have given up on actually teaching.

Posted: May 9, 2018

Communication between parents and staff is horrendous. The teachers are more worried about being the kids friend than their leader.

Posted: May 9, 2018

My daughter has been bullied all year long and the only thing the school tells me is kids will be kids. That is not an excuse for my daughter getting beat up by 4 girls twice this year and a chair thrown at her in class.

Posted: May 9, 2018

Horrible. I have tried many times to work out a plan with the teachers and RLs to be on the same page when it comes to my daughter being bullied. My once vibrant, beautiful girl went from being excited about school and participating in tons of extra- curricular activities to seeing a counselor on a weekly basis because she said the teachers tell her she is stupid and she gets bullied so she just wants to die. I have since pulled my daughter out of this school and moved to another aurora school and noticed a huge difference in my daughter. Stay away from this school at all costs.

Posted: August 20, 2016

There was never a day that I felt safe at East Middle School. This school is run by the students. Students do whatever they want, talk back to teachers, call teachers names, throw things at the teachers, use their cellphones in class, trash school property.the list goes on. This school has up to 11 fights in one day, stacks of daily referrals, and a classroom that is full of those that are suspended for the week. If you are a kid who listens to the teacher and does your work and actually is eager to learn - this is not the place for you.
Not only a poor communicator, Principal, Biaze Houston is an inept leader. She and her administrators are always in a meeting. They have limited knowledge of what is actually going on in the school. Teachers, who are already overloaded, are required to sub for teachers who are absent, while there are several administrators sitting around in some important meeting. Despite all of these meetings, conditions at East Middle School continue to get worse. What do Ms. Houston and her team of meeting-loving administrators plan to do moving forward?

Posted: March 1, 2016

I talk to the teachers about the noise level in classes, where kids are being bullied while the teacher is in the room. Yet they seem to be neutral to it, like as if they have given up.
Teachers are concerned about my daughter and her attentiveness in class, which is a problem, but there can be better tutoring available.

Posted: March 1, 2016

Students are out of control here. Seems the teachers are not able to keep them focused. Too many kids who belong to families who are limited on the English language, causing a huge learning curve. Music and art is minimal.
Teachers and staff are nice, but hands seem to be tied.

Posted: March 15, 2015

As a teacher working here at East, this school is a mess. It's huge, unorganized, and chaotic. We have some good people here who are trying to do some good things, but not enough of them. Neither teachers nor students receive the help/support they need. Despite the fact that we are an MYP school, it often feels like babysitting rather than "preparing them for college"

Posted: December 14, 2014

East has gotten better over the years but it still has some problems. Most of the problems could be put to a stop if the teachers/staff were a little more strict. Some of these teachers are not here to do their job and others don't get the support to do so. I have never been to a school concert or activity because this school is very poor at parent involvement. Overall, this school is okay if your an involved parent with your child.

Posted: November 9, 2014

Some people in this school are caring and mean well, but a couple of the teachers really don't give two hoots if the kids learn anything and this is evident when you observe the low score this school has received.

Posted: November 5, 2011

My son spent 3 years at this place witnessing fights and drug use. Teachers seemed uncaring and apathetic. I hugely regret that I didn't pull him out, circumstances were very difficult at the time. I will always remember the answer I got from a teacher when I asked why homework wasn't given -it would be 'pontless' as students simply wouldn't do it. Horrible place.

Posted: July 13, 2011

East is a great school and I'm happy that I'm able to go to such a great school with amazing teachers that really do care, and I'm sad that this will be my last year here at east. East is a great school

#	Name	Type	City	State	Distance
1	Sterling Hills West	Area of Town	Aurora	CO	5 mi
2	Cherry Creek	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Denver	CO	7.5 mi
3	Forest Lakes	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Monument	CO	46.5 mi
4	Flying Horse	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Colorado Springs	CO	49.5 mi

#	Name	City	State	Overall Rating	Distance
1	Loveland	Loveland	CO		48.4 mi
2	North Gate Blvd	Colorado Springs	CO		48.6 mi

East Middle School

Aurora, CO 80011

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East Middle School

Aurora, CO 80011

School Ratings

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