Beacon Hill Middle School

Posted: March 6, 2025

AMAZING SCHOOL!!! so inclusive, HAS VERY CHALLENGING WORK FOR WHO WHO WANT IT, AND IS JUST an overall GREAT COMMUNITY

Posted: March 6, 2025

Posted: March 6, 2025

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Posted: August 28, 2024

This is a school that offers French, Spanish, and German, but has not provided any curriculum resources to teach them with. To quote one Spanish teacher, what they have is what's on the walls. One science teacher scanned a textbook he purchased on his own and distributed to his students. Another teacher used textbooks she brought from Chicago to teach her classes. When the school moved to nine weeks from six weeks grading cycles, connections teachers, who again, create or copy resources off the internet to teach their classes, asked where they were supposed to get another three weeks of curriculum, the administrator asked, "Where do you get the rest of your curriculum?" The one-to-one program is such a shambles that many teachers do not use them, instead using handouts they run off of the copiers. The truth is, affluent parents will remediate deficits in their children's education outside of normal instructional hours, while those who cannot, will not, but will be passed. As a former employee with children enrolled in the lower levels, I found everything here so incredibly disturbing on a professional level that I resigned and put my children in private school, an absolutely wrenching decision, as I believe in public education's value. However, the unwarranted pretentions to excellence and the absolute refusal to address these systemic deficiencies were nothing I wanted to subject myself and my children to. The exploitation of the staff is beyond grotesque.

Posted: August 28, 2024

Posted: August 28, 2024

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Posted: January 23, 2023

Posted: January 23, 2023

I’ve been very pleased with the middle school so far. The structure with 4 teams (at least for 6th grade), is conducive to fostering friendships and relationships in a very large school. I love that the kids get daily foreign language classes, and the specials classes are engaging and stimulating. The school has a variety of clubs, and some sports teams that are accessible, although I’d like to see more (eg a JV and Varsity soccer team).

Posted: December 21, 2022

Posted: December 21, 2022

Posted: December 21, 2022

This entire district is imploding on itself due to intense pressure from the community to enable students' self-destructive, out of control behavior. None of the parents want any structure for their kids, so the kids all just run wild. Bullying, fighting, drug use, sex, violence towards teachers, threats, and intimidation - it all gets rewarded by administration with chips or cookies and preferred activities like computer games and skipping class in the "student support center." Decatur schools are a swirling vortex of volatile hormonal madness. Admin are powerless to do anything, so they just sweep everything under the rug and pretend it's okay. Teachers and administrators who attempt to hold students to any expectations get attacked and persecuted. The few students in each class who want to learn get labeled and targeted by bullies. Bullies and their uneducated loud mouthed parents run the schools and the only education anyone is receiving is "how to use manipulation to get out of anything." Good teachers are fleeing the system and the schools are operating with uncertified, unqualified staff who are willing to accept the humiliation of babysitting because they aren't trained educators. In 2022, about 40 teachers and 4 out of 5 administrators abandoned ship because they could see the writing on the wall. We sold our house and moved to get out and I'm so glad we did.

Posted: December 21, 2022

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Posted: May 8, 2021

This is an incredible middle school. I’ve had 3 kids go through it and I’m extremely happy with the education and support! It’s a wonderful community of parents and neighbors as well. I would like to also point out a math teacher by the name of Miss Vaughn. She’s an amazing teacher and has helped my daughter who has Dyscalculia or math dyslexia be confident about math for the first time in her life! She’s probably changed the course of my daughter’s academic life! Math has been such a struggle for Ella over the years and has affected her self esteem. She came home beaming that she understood math and even helped another kid in her class with a problem! She even accomplished this During a pandemic in virtual school! She deserves are award and our gratitude and appreciation! Thank you!

Posted: May 8, 2021

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Posted: April 29, 2019

Posted: April 29, 2019

I love this school and I strongly recommend it to any other parent or guardian out there!

Posted: April 29, 2019

Its a great amount of homework. When my brother come back from school, instead of playing video games they do their homework.

Posted: April 29, 2019

A teacher that one of my brothers had changed his whole academic career.

Posted: April 29, 2019

This school is a Ib learner school.

Posted: April 29, 2019

Posted: April 29, 2019

My neighbor has a son that needs a little extra help in math and reading. The school supports him in every way!

Posted: March 22, 2019

Posted: March 22, 2019

Posted: March 22, 2019

Not at all the exceptional experience I was lead to believe it would be for my child. Anyone that doesn't fit the "typical" mold will be left behind. Teachers and particularly administrators are minimally communicative and often ignore emails and voicemails. The school fails to hold students accountable and then appears baffled when students don't take their academics or behavior seriously. We couldn't have been more thrilled to withdraw our child in favor of another learning environment. Don't believe the City Schools of Decatur hype.

Posted: March 22, 2019

most homework requires internet access which favors privileged students

Posted: March 22, 2019

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Posted: March 22, 2019

Posted: February 28, 2019

If your child is a compliant learner, the family has high household income, and never runs across the wrong teacher, it will probably be a smooth and enriching experience.
Otherwise, it could be the most you ever paid in taxes for the worst experience. Coin toss. School removes reviews they don't like so I'll be returning regularly to rewrite this.

Posted: February 27, 2019

This is absolutely true for my family. They do this well.

Posted: February 27, 2019

This school has so many wonderful teachers. Stroy, Boersma, Whiteley, Lovern, are just a few of many who help make this journey meaningful and impactful.

Heather Byars, however, represents that bad apple who can singlehandedly undermine learner experience and parent confidence within a semester. More details provided in my overall comment.

Posted: February 27, 2019

This school enjoys a generous pool of kids from higher income families with highly engaged parents. The school cannot be fully credited with introducing or significantly developing values that are present due to the ameliorative affect of their household demographics. The school offers an environment that is generally free of bullying and that helps to reinforce values that are mostly present with these high potential learners. The broad inability to demonstrate an equitable environment for learners who do not enjoy the same advantages or hail from different backgrounds tells the story that this school most certainly does not develop values consistently across a differentiated learner population.

Posted: February 27, 2019

Impressed with the teachers who help safeguard the classroom experience, but the leadership must protect the school culture. They must act to protect learners without parents escalating to the superintendent or school board. They must reprimand and swiftly dismiss intolerant or ineffective instructors. The principal is new and seems too keen to maintain status quo. It's worth noting he is new to the school, but not to the district. He inherited a school with talented teachers, very capable learners, and engaged families. His leadership seems timid, and focused on maintaining order and discipline instead of the kind of transformation that moves the needle on equity or academic progress. It is this timid leadership that slowly erodes culture from the top down and weakens accountability. He seems well-intentioned. I don't have a chi squared test to confirm if the observed effectiveness or ineffectiveness of his (and his administration's) leadership is statistically significant. All I know is what I've run into. And basically, we still got pebbles in our shoe over here.

Posted: February 27, 2019

Not enough personal experience with this to say I agree or disagree. I definitely think it's an easier time for families with compliant learners.

Posted: February 27, 2019

Practice and assessments are key to overcoming the phenomenon of "forgetting." The lack of structured homework is worrisome because it only enables families like ours with means to hire a coach or tutor to really deepen learning and build the right habits. Don't necessarily need hours of homework--just more structure in this area.

Posted: September 16, 2018

Posted: September 16, 2018

Posted: September 16, 2018

Our second child is there now and our first already graduated. Renfroe (and Decatur H.S.) get their deserved accolades for strong academic achievement. Our teachers have all been solid and engaged. The school and neighborhood culture is somewhat challenging because there is almost no "middle group" of students. It's more wealthy and educated (and liberal if that matters to you) families combined with lower income families driven largely by the way $$$ housing is in Decatur. It is also a largely academics first/only type focus. Lackluster emphasis on sports facilities is prevalent (i.e. we have no track, lots of sports have to go to nearby parks to practice, football practices on a small stretch of grass behind the school and stores their gear in a portable storage container plopped in the parking lot). If you are a soccer/lacrosse family you'll fit right in. Football or basketball not so much.

It may be a common experience elsewhere too, but one of our frustrations being in an environment like this is our children because they're good students and well off are often neglected because they don't cause trouble or struggle in class. I get it, but some days as a parent who wants their children to be the best they can be it's frustrating.

Posted: September 16, 2018

Posted: September 16, 2018

Posted: September 16, 2018

Posted: September 16, 2018

Posted: November 18, 2015

So far so good, for the most part. We've been very happy with the core teachers (English, Humanities, Math, Science).

Posted: November 18, 2015

I am not a proponent of homework, so I appreciate the amounts given which is usually less than an hour per night. Kids are busy with extracurriculars after school and just need some down time!!

Posted: November 18, 2015

We are new to the school, but based on the relationship my daughter has with her teachers, it seems they are very open to communication, accountability and give students the opportunity to take ownership of their learning; a true collaboration of efforts!

Posted: November 18, 2015

This is our first year at Renfroe Middle School, after being at a private school for 10 years...and we are so happy we made the decision to enroll our child! We have been so impressed with the level of commitment from the teachers (Ms. McRae, Ms. Ratliff, Mr. Taube, Ms. Harvey, Coach Coleman--all AWESOME!!), as well as the caliber of students my child has gotten to know--smart, well-rounded, and kind friends!! Equally as impressed with the curriculum.

Posted: May 6, 2015

I transferred from Drew Charter School to Renfroe though I had been in CSD for my whole life. I want to say that Renfroe is a fantastic school, with caring teachers and nice people. The only problem is that it is VERY crowded. Fantastic school.

Posted: November 23, 2014

My son is an eighth grader at Renfroe and he feels that most of his teachers offer a challenging environment that is interesting and engaging. Mr. Thomas puts the students first and creates fun events for the students. The teachers are accessible and give quick feedback about my son's progress. Renfroe is a safe and secure environment to learn where students can flourish. I feel as though he has had a private education throughout his academics since pre-K at City Schools of Decatur.

Posted: October 7, 2013

Renfroe Middle School is one of the best schools in decatur, with caring teachers and a principal that really cares about the kids.

Posted: August 9, 2013

I have had two children attend Renfroe. This school has had challenges in the past with administration. (see the older dated reviews). However, this school is currently doing many things right. I observe a principal who engages students, demonstrates good values, is a visionary and a good role model (and he happens to be black). I observe staff and teachers that know kids by name, actively encourage (and admonish), challenge and believe in their students. One teacher in particular impressed me, Mr. Robinson. My daughter started the year in fear of him, but loved, respected and even made him a gift by the end of the year. She had learned a great deal from him about history, human dignity and hard work. At graduation, several students gave testimonies to his challenging them, taking time to support them outside of class and believing in them. This school is not perfect, but it is a special place. If i had another child, I would sent them here.