Howard University Middle School PCS

Posted: October 27, 2022

Posted: October 27, 2022

Posted: October 27, 2022

Posted: October 27, 2022

The school has definitely worked to ensure there is a level playing field all students. It seems as if more parents are need to be involved in the school. The curriculum is structured and the administration is fair and about the children academic growth

Posted: October 27, 2022

Posted: October 27, 2022

Posted: October 27, 2022

Posted: October 27, 2022

Posted: March 15, 2018

Posted: March 15, 2018

Posted: March 15, 2018

Posted: March 15, 2018

Posted: March 15, 2018

Posted: March 15, 2018

Posted: March 15, 2018

MS2 was once a highly sought-after school by DC families back when the president's daughter attended. It's gone downhill since she graduated. Now you have a crazy mix of under-performing students w/disrespectful behaviors mixed in w/higher performing, self-motivated students. So much has changed which is why I took my daughters out & tell other parents the whole truth when they ask. The behavior & academic expectations are low, there’s nothing really enriching for higher performing students because everything is geared for the kids who are below level. My daughters felt like it wasn’t cool to be smart. They loved competing in chess tournaments & participating in math competitions but this school doesn't do any of that. The home-school communication & parent involvement here SUCKS. They tell parents things at the last minute & pretend like they want parents involved by having a PTA but they don't get supported. I didn’t even know we had a PTA until the end of our last school year! Why do we even have a Parent Liaison? Teachers & administration are also non-responsive when you reach out to them for help or a meeting to get your child to the next level – they only wanted to meet with the parents of kids who were failing. No wonder they loose so many kids & teachers every year. To be a “math & science” STEM school, we don’t even have a competitive robotics team or a math enrichment club - what a joke. Our kids can't even compete & prepare for schools like National Cathedral, St. Albans, Maret, Banneker, or McKinley Tech w/o the best STEM opportunities in our “STEM school?” I mean we should have Black Girls Code & a partnership with Google to teach our kids how to build websites & create apps. This once thriving and heralded middle school on the campus of the “mecca of HBCU’s” is not all it says it is with reading & math scores that have been below average for YEARS. It’s also a joke that MS2 pretends to have a partnership with Howard University. They don't even offer an elective class in African American Studies taught by one of the professors from HU. Our children should know the real history of themselves & not just how to know rap all the Trap music songs. I hope things get better for future students. MS2 has A LOT of work to do to be a competitive middle school where everyone wants their kids to go and stay through 8th grade.

Posted: July 18, 2017

Although it's now 2017 and MS2 has a new Head of School, reading many of these reviews from the past couple years brings serious concern about sending our gifted 6th grade daughter here - this along with the low reading & math profieciency levels. We understand that all schools have growing pains, especially with the change in administration - however, low behavioral & academic student expectations & high teacher turn over rates/use of substitute teachers bring us great concern for a STEM School on an HBCU campus.

We are going to have faith in the new administration & teaching staff and see how the first couple months go. Praying that MS2 gets it together & raises the bar (for the teachers, students & parents) so it can be ranked amongst the top 5 middle schools in DC and students are well prepared to get into the top high performing HS's in the District.

Posted: December 2, 2015

I think home work great . they need to work hard with students. I think some of teacher need need to be hired.

Posted: December 2, 2015

I think the teacher don't care about the student. The Dean of students terrible....the teacher bully the the students.

Posted: December 2, 2015

Do Not sending your child to this school if you like your child to be bully by the teacher and complaining about your child all the time.... nothing good to said about your child.

Posted: September 17, 2015

I am the new head of school at Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science. I noticed that many of the negative reviews that have been posted were from last year when we had some internal difficulties. What happened last year was unfortunate. However, please understand, the commitment to delivering a quality education to every student has not changed. We have some of the most qualified teachers in the DMV, many of them award winning educators. Our curriculum is rigorous and students who leave us will have at least a transferable high school credit in Algebra 1 and could possibly have a credit in geometry as well. No school is perfect and we have addressed many of the concerns from last year. We continue to have the commitment of the Howard University community and are reestablishing the partnerships that made our STEM school one of the best in Washington DC. I hope that next year, I will be able to give us 5 stars as we continue to improve. At (MS)2 we expect our students to do something extraordinary every day!

Posted: May 22, 2015

Posted: May 22, 2015

PARENTS BEWARE!!!!
Do not send your child to this school. This is my child's last year at this school and what a journey we have been through. If you want your child to get into a good high school this is not the place to start.

Posted: May 22, 2015

This was our child's first year and we are very disappointed. The administration didn't deliver any of the things that attracted us to enroll her. With the arrival and appointments of Dr. Blackmon, who arrived in August 2014 by January 2015 several key teachers were fired and incompetent substitute teachers were placed in classrooms to instruct our children. There are numerous problems faults not with the school, but with the administrative staff there is a high volume of turn over at this school, it was the potential to being an outstanding opportunity for our children that desire to pursue a career in the field of STEM and being on the campus of a HBCU in itself a benefit but with its current leadership it will not be the school of choice for our child next school term the only way we would consider returning next year is the REMOVAL of Dr. Blackmon, she's not the best choice for the school, the students or the HBCU college community.

Posted: March 9, 2015

I would not recommend that you send your child to this school. High staff turnover, administration does not seem to care about the students', teachers' and parents' concerns. As a Charter School, this school gets away with a lot of things like who they hire and how they treat staff, students and parents. This School retains lots of substitutes much longer than they should which is out of compliance with Special Education for those with 504 plans. Principal seems out of touch with teachers' and students' needs. Many supply shortages. No transparency at the School. Administration lacks honest communication with the students, teachers and parents. Professional development is lacking. Some students do not feel safe with some of the teachers. School has high percentage of African-American students yet the curriculum is insensitive to their needs. High suspension rate. Find and send your child to another school so you won't regret it too.

Posted: February 10, 2015

I am a 7th grader right now at Howard University Middle School. Last year was not the best but it was better than this year! This year, the whole entire social studies department resigned because they were written up for teaching black history. Although, I respect that they needed to leave because of the environment they were in but at the same time leaving is not changing anything! The sad part about this, is that they were not the only ones who left this year....... Multiple teachers have left this year, and whole lot of teachers from last year have left. As most of you guys know, we have been in many news articles, tweets, and talk shows in which we were protesting about what has been going on in school. We listed and stated are demands in the protest, and still have not heard anything from Dr.Blackmon and the schools administrators. If you are thinking about bringing your child to this school, think again! This most definitely should not be your first choice.

Posted: February 1, 2015

Prior to this principal (not a pal) firing the ENTIRE SOCIAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT, apparently in a fit of anger... the PTA had told the administration that we were very unhappy about how the teachers were being treated, and that we wanted these teachers to stay . We told them we WANTED black history in our classrooms. What the hay??? Unresponsive to the parents to the point of flagrant disrespect....

Posted: January 31, 2015

Parents, don't be fooled!. Teachers looking to get hired here, beware! I was impressed from what I was told in the beginning. I thought I did my homework on researching this school. Parents told me in previous years the school was good. I'm finding out that this school is going downhill. Wish I'd known the problems before enrolling my child here. Often other parents ask my advice on schools for their children because I'm a school teacher in another school district, with over 15 years experience. The teachers are good at Howard MS2, and the ones my child had were effective & caring. However, the way the Principal talks to the parents and students is like we are all just ignorant and she does not take repsonsiblility for her actions even though they negatively impact the lives of students. She avoids telling the truth by repeating the same vague responses. Teachers are harassed to the point they'd rather "resign" and then administration just says "we didn't fire them". What an insult to the intelligence of ALL of us. My child has 3 substitute teachers teaching her everyday so how is this a free and appropriate public education.? Maybe a class action lawsuit is needed.

Posted: January 29, 2015

I have 2 children at this school in 8th and 6th grade. When my son started in 6th grade we were very excited. However, the quality has gove extremely down hill. My 8th grader currently has 4 substitute teachers. The administration has been overheard saying that she does not care about the students who hate the learning conditions at this school and want to leave because there are over 300 people on the waiting list.

Posted: January 27, 2015

I am a student at the Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science. The school is a complete disgrace. Since the year has started, 6 teachers and 1 staff member have left. The environment in which the students are treated in is unhealthy. Students fight to not become depressed and the reasons that the students stay happy is because the friends and always there to stick together. The principal, Dr. Blackmon has terrible people skills and stays in her office the whole day. Previous principals that where favored by other students, were always out and building relationships with the students. If you are a parent, I advise that you do not bring your child to this school. I as a student am currently fighting for my freedom. I am fighting for your child. I am fighting for the people who have a long road to go ahead of them like the younger grades. Your child does not deserve to suffer from this harsh environment. Thank you for reading.

Posted: January 27, 2015

I am a current student at Howard University Middle School (MS)2 and am happy this is my final year. The school has changed from my first year here. My 6th grade year was fun and I enjoyed it. 7th grade is when things started going downhill. We got a new principal and she left after about a month on the job. We went the rest of the year without a principal. This year we have a new principal and I don't think she knows what she's doing. So far this year we've lost at least 8 teachers and they were the ones that cared the most. They haven't filled the spots and it doesn't look like they are trying to. Now we have lost our 3 favorite teachers which makes 11 teachers gone. This has been a terrible year and once again, am glad that I am leaving. If you are a parent interested in sending your child here, I hope you find this helpful.

Posted: January 26, 2015

This school has really changed. It has changed from a school that cares about its students, parents, and teachers to a school that only cares that is solely focused on administration being comfortable. The Principal runs this school like a dictatorship. She is honestly not concerned about students or teachers. As I exit the building at the end of the school day, I constantly hear student comment on how much they hate this school and how much the principal does not care about them. Since the start of the school year, 6 teachers and 1 staff member have left. The vacancies have yet to be filled nor do I believe that they are making an effort to fill them. The principal is so controlling that she tells the people who are leaving that they are not allowed to inform anyone until the day before their last day. Teachers and staff are treated as if we are insignificant. It's almost as if she is running us all out so that she can replace us with what she considers better teachers. What she really means is teachers who will not be required to be treated as human beings.

Posted: December 17, 2014

This school is outrages teachers are out of control teachers are calling us stupid down rating us as students you should not put your students in this school they will want to leave you have little teachers who care and the one who cares are teaching the truth but they want the teachers to do what the rest of the teacher do and make the students learn about the stuff that is not true the principal DOSE NOT like KWANZAA WE WERE MAKING kwanza creations and she was talking bout them they take students stuff for the entire school year DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE

Posted: December 17, 2014

Current Student: At ms2 everything is not what it seems we work but its the learning conditions we are in with the teachers and other staff. As a current student here at ms2 we are down graded as a student teachers tell us we are Stupid and wont have a great future. Teachers put kids out for no apparent reason and call parents like the parents do not work. Also the principle Dr.Blackmon does not like culture things and gets mad when students create Kwanzaa and Christmas decorations on the 7th grade floor-#Do not send kids here

Posted: December 2, 2014

I am a student and i don't know how i made it 3 years! My six grade year was amazing! that was my best year. Now the school is so disorganized! The teachers are hypocrites, disorganized, and don't know when to admit they are wrong. The students needs some "act right" DON'T BE FULLED BY IT'S NAME

Posted: May 24, 2014

I am a 6th grader. The school is so unorganized! I had to return the school computer due to an internal problem, and I still do not have the computer! I returned it on April 21. The school can be cheap as well, this is also the reason I do not have my computer. The school wouldn't pay for the insurance for the school computer. The school basically did EVERYTHING they could to get rid of cheerleading as well. they got rid of every single game the cheerleaders were suppose to cheer at. The teachers can be sarcastic and rude, and it frustrates me when the teacher wouldn't call on me when I have my hand up for basically the whole class, but then expect me to stay in that class late to ask a simple question that could have been answered a long time ago. The sarcasm that some teachers have can be effective but certain teacher's sarcasm can really get to me. The teachers at the school can put TOO MUCH pressure on us. Last Friday, one of my classmates asked one of the 7th/8th grade teachers if their class is hard. The teacher responds "My class is extremely hard, out of all 60 students I teach, only 3 people has an A and 1 person has a A-". I then raised my hand and asked~ TO BE CONTINUED

Posted: May 17, 2014

I have been very disappointed by this school and I'm glad this is my child's last year. They talked a great game. My child's 6th grade year was good, but this school and his experience there has gone down hill since. I wish I had taken him out last year. The 8th grade teachers are horrible. They have no control over the students and it's apparent some of them don't like teaching anymore. The Dean of Students lacks experience and judgment. He seems to think the only way to address behavioral problems is to suspend or expel. His mantra is guilty, guilty, guilty, even if proven innocent later. The school lacks leadership. The new principal left after two months into the school year. They are searching for a new principal now, but It will take a lot more than getting a new principal to fix this school. And the Executive Director has his head in the clouds. Don't waste your time. Your child deserves better.

Posted: May 8, 2014

This school is not the best to choose for your child. The teachers and other authorities involved in the school are self-involved. They seem to want to ruin the kids reputation and future. They make petty excuses for suspending your kid or putting them out of class. My daughter was recently suspended for reading a book that was written by someone and not doing nothing at all but sitting it down. But since they say "she should have handed it to the teacher," she got suspended and now can not graduate nor participate in any 8th grade trips. And my daughter has been here for 3 years now makes good grades and even gets the school known for HER hard work and they tell her she can not go to her graduate. It is insane.! Don't bring your kid here it will bring much trouble in your life. For this school to get better it would need better leadership specifically I would say the Dean Of Students. I have no respect for him at this point. I would say I like the few opportunities that run by the school and my child takes advantage of. Other than that...Don't go!

Posted: April 14, 2014

My school is not as good as they say it is. I know that because I went there. The teachers don't have experience and they don't know what it is to teach. Not all of the teachers are like this but a lot of them are. The thing I liked about the school is that they give out free MacBook computers.

Posted: March 17, 2014

It's not horrible. But it's not great. Yes, having a middle school on the campus of a university seems like a phenomenal concept. Some of our instructors are exemplary professors from the university; more often, I've seen teachers who seem to think yelling penetrates the brain more effectively than... teaching. Too many parents send their "problem" students here hoping for a miracle experience. Even in classrooms where teachers have established a proper structure, students themselves can be (and often are) the greatest hindrance to their learning. The most patient, knowledgeable, and experienced teachers simply can't compensate for a lack of home training--at least, not for an entire classroom. On the upside, the building is in the middle of repairs. Staff as a whole are extraordinarily dedicated to seeing students succeed... but again, their methods of communicating this can be questionable. Also, university students are employed to supplement the learning in the classroom; they are a great asset. Overall, this school has its room to improve; mainly in hiring experienced teachers (regardless of race?). However, parents could clearly do a better job preparing their kids.

Posted: August 29, 2013

I had to remove my son From MS2 last year because the leadership was terrible. How can you go thru an entire school year without a Computer Science teacher? Dont inform the parents until late and call yourself a Tech school. I am vvery glad I changed schools. Hope they get better.

Posted: August 28, 2013

I am very hopeful this school year. Now that we have are out from under 2 years of very poor leadership.I am very eager to get back on the right track and place the focus back on students.

Posted: July 11, 2013

Howard MS2 is by far one of the best middle schools in DC. It is not overcrowed, under enrolled, or plagued with violence like most schools. Academical I believe you can recieve great results if you work hand in hand with your child and teachers. My son transfered from a lower performing7th grade to MS2. I was happy with the change. I noticed improvement in his subjects right away. With all that being said there are a few concerns I must express that I believe will make MS2 more successful. Timely communication from administration and some teachers need to addressed. The STEM technology that they talk so much about needs to truely become a more detailed part of the curriculm. My son was so excited to be a part of the robotics class, but loss interest after not being involved in any competitions, no acknowledgements, and the instructers being absent half of the year.

Posted: July 10, 2013

This school was one of the best to work at with some of the best students in the area. However the administration, including the Executive Director are so worried about reputation, the students do not get the quality instruction or support that they need. Unless you are an honors student in which case the sky is the limit. the middle of the road or remedial student will not be served well at (MS)2. The building is falling apart and whenever it rains there are leaks and issues everywhere. The facility's air conditioning didn't work this past year for almost 3 weeks during almost 100 degree temps. Don't believe the hype about the technology, computers often aren't working and the school is in chaos. I hope that the school rebounds and becomes more hype than hope.

Posted: June 2, 2013

I am a parent and I think the school live to all the hype. My child is in the 7th grade honors program and is doing wonderful. I am not aware of any of the fighting issues the person wrote about. My child is dropped off and picked up. I think a school is what you put into it. The teachers are great and the administrative staff is wonderful.

Posted: February 18, 2013

Don t believe it, when you hear them say, This is one of the best schools in the district. Forget about it! I am finishing up the school year here and I will be happy when I am done with MS2. Bullying is not an issue; however, if you like fights at the metro station and in school, love seeing people getting jumped after school in the ally where they make ALL the children walk after school, and love suspension and students occasionally being expelled come to this school. Sometimes you'll have the disorganized and lazy teachers who say to your face, "I am going to fail you this quarter." Don t be fooled by this seven out of ten school ranking, because this school used to be a ten out of ten school and so were the reviews, it s going down hill quickly. I will NOT sugar coat anything and make this school look pretty because if you want all the drama that goes on inside of this school: Apply now is the only thing I can tell you. I m pretty sure you can get the same negative results at your neighborhood school without the extra commute, because right now everything looks better than MS2.

Posted: February 6, 2013

Great concept, poor implementation. My child is finishing up his 8th grade year and it can't end fast enough. My child entered the school as a high achiever, so he didnt need the cuddling and attention of many of the other students. Many of the teachers (not all) are unprepared and overwhelmed with behavioral issues and lack of admin support. I found many of the 8th grade teachers to be very unresponsive when issues arise from the parents standpoint and prone to make excuses for not responding. Many of the teachers are not liscensed which lends its to the fact that they dont know how to deal with and or relate with teenagers. Sold on higher achievement with a technology platform, but what we have recieved is a charter school with tons of behavior issues with a select few (honor students) who thrive. Fortunately in my childs case, there is support at home and we can navigate the chaos for him, but many students dont have that and get lost in a promoting an image that the staff can't even maintain. The one positive is the Black male presence in the classroom across all subject matter.

Posted: September 27, 2012

This schools honors program is great. They really do meet your child where they are, in many cases this means parents taking a realistic view of what they must contribute to ensure the success of their student. The teachers and interns are there to assist and make sure the students are held accountable to reaching the high standards. Love the yearly testing to tell parents exactly which areas the students need to work at!

Posted: January 31, 2012

Sending my child to this school was a very bad choice. I heard how bad parents was trying to get their kids in this school and jump on the band wagon. I did some research and went to every open house and any meeting they had for parents. This school talk a very good game but show no results. I wish I read the warning from the other parent on here before I sent my child here. If you send your child here I hope your experience will be better than ours. Best of luck.

Posted: August 15, 2010

I am a parent. My child attended this school. I am very UPSET . . . they care about their image not the kids. DO NOT send your child here. The school is located on campus thats it. NOTHING like the COLLEGE . . . DON"T SEND YOUR CHILD HERE . . . YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted: March 1, 2009