Charles A Forbes Middle School

Posted: March 7, 2026

Both our kids attended Forbes and we had a very good experience. Our kids were engaged and felt safe. The teaching was effective and the learning environment positive.

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Posted: May 2, 2024

i didn't like it as a student, the only thing found good were the teachers. Other than that i guess it's fine, but bullying is a problem for the majority of students, and bullies don't even get punished. Like a friend stood up for himself and was immediately sent to ISS. While the person harassing him goes away with no punishment. overall i would say its fine to go as long as your kid doesn't interact with many people, most students are not very nice and bullying is common to see in the halls. in the end its a meh for me. but if your kids can find a friend group its a really good school.

Posted: December 7, 2023

I think it is a great school my kids love it the teachers are great we love it here.

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Posted: June 12, 2023

My experience at Forbes has been pretty good considering it’s a middle school, the teachers are nice and make sure of the students well being if anything seems off with their behavior. Of course there are a few outliers, but that always seems to be the case. While I and others usually feel excited about learning, not everyone looks forward to classes as much as others. Emotionally and mentally, it can be stressful with the amount of assignments given; there can be other factors to that stress, too. However, the councilors always help the students as soon as possible after students submit a request to see the councilor and fill out the urgency of their situation. It doesn’t even necessarily have to be school related to speak with the councilors, they could just be having a good/bad day and want to talk about it. While the student waits to be called in, the teachers will also help and listen to them.

Since I’m not in any Special Ed, I can’t speak much on this topic, but from what I’ve seen, people with disabilities are visited by students often for games and socializing, and the kids requiring assistance always have a helper with them. During tests, if a student has a learning disability like dyslexia, they are offered a listening option where they will hear the questions and answers aloud. They are also allowed some extra time on assignments where it’s needed.

The school is very big on the safety of the students; there is always at least one on-campus officer and students are under surveillance by cameras in the halls. The hall monitors, vise principle, and principle also monitor the students, more specifically during lunch, but also in the halls during passing periods to make sure nothing happens. Though fights do happen occasionally, they are quickly shut down by staff nearby. This school keeps families in the loop of their curriculum fairly well, and encourages the kids to ask questions & do some personal learning, though that doesn’t mean that the students always abide.

Overall, I’d say that this school is pretty great, at least in my experience. The teachers are awesome, the kids differ, and the curriculum can be fun. They have a variety of sports to play which keeps a lot of students active. It’s not too difficult to make great friends, eventually students usually find themselves gravitating towards potential friends, or other students attempt to befriend them. Good school.

Posted: June 12, 2023

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Posted: May 9, 2021

Posted: May 9, 2021

tl;dr: Overall not great.

To begin this review I would like to note that is review will be split into two halves, in-person and online schooling and that the ratings I have given have been from in-person schooling.

In 2018 I was rezoned from attending Benold to instead attending Forbes. Although Benold was closer to my residence I was rezoned anyways. When arriving you will immediately notice that the building is dated and is across from Cooper elementary. When walking inside you will notice that there is a door on each side of you, one leads into the sixth grade area while the other leads into the seventh and eighth grade. The layout of the school was quite confusing to me for the first couple weeks until I memorized it. The homework is not handled effectively handle with there often being extremely loose deadlines. My experience with the teachers was good, most were overall enjoyable and fun people while others not so much. Leadership was terrible during my time with me often getting in trouble for no reason, by accounts of other students it was extremely easy to skip class even with cameras (Note: I do not know if these accounts are true although I will treat them as being true for the purposes of this review). I came out of the school worse then ever dealing with extreme stress from assignment pile-up. I do not know about how students with learning difference are treated so I will give it a 'meh'. Bullying was not handled great by accounts of my friends, one says they got bullied by older students and when they reported it the student was never given a punishment. My other friend got into a fight after someone had been harassing him, the offender who was harassing him was never given punishment although he was in ISS for a couple days.

ONLINE:
My online experience is not great with extreme amounts of work, teachers not helping, leadership is also not helping, etc.

Posted: May 9, 2021

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Posted: October 23, 2019

Generally pretty bad. Behavior is never taken care of. Teachers are generally pretty normal. Not bad, but not good either. Pretty much all kids are out of control and aggressive.

Posted: October 23, 2019

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Posted: May 12, 2018

I only attended Forbes my 8th grade year, as I'd just moved to Georgetown. It was a decent school, not amazing, not horrific. Pretty much 'meh'.

Posted: July 14, 2016

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Posted: July 14, 2016

this school's stats are deceiving; they are reflective of the diverse population which is why we chose GT schools out of the many excellent options available in neighboring cities. The AP coursework and teachers are good and there is a sense of caring community through all schools. GISD is in building mode, having weeded out those who are not on board with progressive 21st century learning strategies and there is tremendous opportunity here !!

Posted: October 7, 2015

They do care about the children for the most part . You have a few that are there for a paycheck but that's always the case it seems like.

Posted: October 7, 2015

It's already hard enough trying to manage seven classes a day when it starts at 7am and ends at 3:50 each day my child is tired. But he does the homework and goes to bed. I know it only gets harder from there and they need to get use to it. But my child says he has a couple of really tough teachers which is making it a little harder to keep up. But he says, he fine an will work thru it.

Posted: October 7, 2015

I think the staff at least the majority seem to really care about the children. Middle school is such a difficult time for these children. I admire the bravery the staff has to teach them. I wish sixth graders were kept in the elementary level, given more time to mature instead of being thrown into such a system they really are not mature enough to handle. Most don't do so well in the first half of the year,but tend to do better in the second half. So I have mixed feelings about it.

Posted: March 7, 2014

My school is an awesome place to be. I enjoy the staff I get to work with. Kids are kids anywhere you go. I love all of mine, yes even the hard headed ones. Would have loved for mine to go here.

Posted: February 1, 2014

I've had at least one child at this school off and on for almost 10 years now. Forbes has a very caring and professional staff, and is led by an outstanding principal. The teachers are truly invested in their students' learning. However, over the last 3 years, this school district has changed in a dramatically negative direction. The district leadership has placed an emphasis on test scores over teaching, and data generation over learning. Once a shining example of service to special needs kids, the SPED leadership at the district level is obstructionist at best when expected to provide services to special needs kids. If you have a kid with special needs, you'd better have a lawyer because you will need it! From all indications, Forbes is a wonderful school and would thrive if the district personnel would get out of their way (as they used to). The asst. super in charge of middle schools is a micro manager, and teachers no longer have the time to meet together with colleagues to plan interventions with students. It is this way in the entire GISD. Extremely poor district leadership and a super who only cares about rubbing shoulders with community leaders.

Posted: May 5, 2013

Our experience at Forbes has been fabulous. The teachers are good and they invest in the students. The athletic programs are excellent and my daughter is thriving.