Gainesville Middle School

Posted: March 1, 2026

Posted: March 1, 2026

Posted: March 1, 2026

Posted: March 1, 2026

Posted: March 1, 2026

Posted: March 1, 2026

Posted: March 1, 2026

This school has serious safety issues. Students frequently bully one another, which creates an unsafe environment. During my time here, I have noticed that whenever a serious incident is reported, the staff does not seem to take the problem seriously. Many students also often use racial slurs against their peers. For example, in sixth grade, my friend mentioned her plan to wear a hijab, and the next day, when she did, she was called a “t3rr0r!st” by several people. While the education here is alright, the overall environment of the school leaves much to be desired.

Posted: December 9, 2025

So far my experience with this school as a parent is not great. School management is not great. Teacher did not post their grades on time. so confusing!!

Posted: December 9, 2025

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Posted: May 15, 2025

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Posted: May 15, 2025

Posted: May 15, 2025

Posted: May 15, 2025

Posted: May 15, 2025

Posted: May 15, 2025

There are so many bad reviews about this school. Overall it's pretty good, but I will address some issues.
Bathrooms: During lunch and class there are girls filming TikToks in the bathroom and making other feel a little bit awkward. Once there was a random cheer team sign-up sheet.
Lunch: The food is fine but most people bring their own. There is enough seating but most students are saving an entire row of seats.
Gym/locker room: The locker room is kind of dirty and we didn't have enough time to get ready for class. We don't use showers and there's just some gym equipment in there. On the door to the locker room there was a sign that clearly said PLEASE DON"T SPRAY PERFUME IN THE LOCKER ROOM. I'll just say it really smells like perfume in there. There are only 5 stalls in the bathroom and about 15 girls that have to go. Gym class is lowkey boring. We never really played fun games (the best one was field hockey). When we played kickball the ball didn't even have air in it and some kid laughed at me because I didn't kick it far.
Teachers: Most of the teachers are kind and care about the students. One teacher didn't really tell kids to pay attention. Half the class was playing games and she never said anything. Once I was going to my after school activity (it was still at school though) and a teacher was like "Were are you going!?" I was like "To art club." "WHY ARN'T YOU THERE ALREADY?" I was literally walking there!
Students: The students are ok. Some of the kids think they're really cool and look at others as if they were dirt. Most of the girls are very sweet and kind though (idk about the boys). I saw 3 fights in one year. Two 6th graders fighting, Two 7th graders fighting (one got a bloody nose), and two 8th graders fighting. I didn't see bullying. When I went to class I would see a few couples walking around, holding hands, but that was it. One boy said he saw someone kissing but I don't know if he made it up or not.
Overall I recommend this school because it's not hard to ignore the kids and the education is good
Hope this was helpful! :)

Posted: February 28, 2025

With my experience in this school it has been super terrible. When I was in sixth grade I was bullied every day and I reported it and nothing was done about it. They use the excuse that that's the whole point of middle school that people will you but you have to get over it. There was a death threat made to one of my friends and the girl that made the death threat to my friend had bipolar disorder. Nobody got in trouble but nothing was done about it and they did not look into the death threat at all because it was supposedly a rumor. Everybody was talking about it at school so we didn't know if it was rumor or true. They also don't do anything if you report something or someone specifically. You have to report the same person three times in a row for them to do something about it so they basically just let it continue on until a specific amount of time. There are a lot of teachers that don't really care about teaching and hand you the work and the school just focuses on the students rather than how the teacher is teaching so if you get a bad grade then that's your fault. I want to help for my grades but it was always just saying retakes I'm not taking advantage of or it's about studying or it's about not turning in assignments. They do not care how the teachers teach and they wouldn't care if the teachers don't even teach at all because most of the teachers here make you fun for yourself and it leads to very poorly grades by many students. I'm in a grade and I have so far seen no students with Straight A's or A and B's. 50% of the eighth graders have straight Fs

Posted: February 28, 2025

Posted: February 28, 2025

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Posted: October 22, 2023

Posted: October 22, 2023

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Posted: October 22, 2023

Posted: October 22, 2023

Posted: October 22, 2023

Posted: October 22, 2023

The teachers at that school are seriously so mean and I was just going to my after school art club and there was a teacher getting mad at me cause I wasn’t there she was asking me where should you be right now after school and I said I was on my way to art club and she yelled at me saying so why aren’t you right now but she literally saw me walking there and I feel kinda scared sometimes cause there is this one teacher that looks at me weird every single day so idk

Posted: April 22, 2023

There are too many fights and students do not feel safe in the bathrooms

Posted: April 22, 2023

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Posted: September 22, 2022

Posted: September 22, 2022

Posted: September 22, 2022

Posted: September 22, 2022

Posted: September 22, 2022

Posted: September 22, 2022

Posted: September 22, 2022

Posted: September 22, 2022

Gainesville Middle School has become openly hostile to trans students and girls. The administration ignores reports of harassment until forced to address issues, and then punishes victims for reporting harassment rather than doing anything at all to keep them safe. The administration goes beyond deliberate indifference and actively retaliates against victims who dare to report harassment or bullying. The vice principal actively perpetuates the "boys will be boys" excuse for sexually inappropriate behavior. Horrible.

Posted: September 24, 2019

Posted: September 24, 2019

Posted: September 24, 2019

The orchestra teacher at this school belittles the students and embarrasses them in front of the class so I would highly disagree that respect and compassion are core values to the school. These are values my kids learned at home.

Posted: September 24, 2019

Posted: September 24, 2019

Posted: September 24, 2019

Posted: September 24, 2019

Overall this is a nice school, some teachers are wonderful others not so much. When concerns were brought forward to the principal no actions were taken which was highly disappointing. However if you don’t have children with learning disabilities your kids should be fine here.

Posted: May 21, 2018

Students are expected to focus in school so work doesn't need to be brought home. Only necessary homework is given.

Posted: May 21, 2018

Teachers respond immediately to parents and challenge students.

Posted: May 21, 2018

Posted: May 21, 2018

Posted: May 21, 2018

Opportunities exist to work at a level high enough to challenge extremely bright students.

Posted: May 21, 2018

Posted: May 21, 2018

Great experience with this school. Students are challenged. Easy to track how students are doing. Work is interesting enough that my child talks about what he's learning on a daily basis, especially in science.

Posted: February 3, 2017

I wish every principal was like Mrs. Porter-Lucas.

Posted: February 3, 2017

They don't just "teach the test" and use several learning style approaches so all the kids understand the material. The teachers use many avenues to keep parents updated through apps, texts and email.

Posted: February 3, 2017

I have two kids in the school and the staff are fantastic, have open communication, very responsive and take any concerns seriously. The kids love their teachers and especially the principal who interacts with the students in such a positive way. As a military family and ALL the schools they've been through, this is by and far the best school yet.

Posted: August 11, 2015

I recently graduated after three years here. Like any middle school there are problems, but it also has many good things. The teachers are a mixed bag, there are some amazing ones that really engage students with hands on learning, then there are some terrible ones that hand you a textbook and say do page 23. (There is one especially bad 7th grade math teacher but I wont name names.) The major problem with this school is the emphasis on testing. There is so much emphasis on SOLs that studying is all you do for the whole month of may. PE is fun and the music teachers are alright. But don't think you will get away with breaking the dress code or walking on the wrong side of the hallway.(yes, the hallway.) Overall, I think I probably left GVMS better off then I was before.

Posted: August 11, 2015

Posted: August 11, 2015

Posted: August 11, 2015

Posted: May 1, 2014

This school deserves the 10-rating it originally had. If you look at the negative reviews - one parent said her son didn't open up to her about the bullying he received while there, and then accused the school about doing nothing about it. It begs the question - if she didn't know about it until after - how was the school supposed to know. Then there was the person who gave one star and said they hated the school - then proceeded to give fictitious examples of wrongdoing - like a 'love tap probably getting a 5-day suspension." Come on! No school is perfect, including this one, but our family has nothing but gratitude for the extra-mile effort from our daughter's teachers. The office staff knows our girl by name and has always been friendly and supportive. Once there was a mistake with the busing, that I called in, and the principal herself contacted us and made things right. We're also thankful that the emphasis is more on helping the kids really learn vs. just passing tests. There's an excellent program that allows for second chances that gives the kids a chance learn from their mistakes and retake their quizzes. If you're considering coming here - you're smart!

Posted: December 19, 2013

We absolutely love being at Gainesville Middle School. That is not to say there are no frustrations, but honestly, I believe they have some of the finest teachers and administrators in the district. We have had multiple children from our family attend this school over the past four years, and the communication between teachers and home is excellent. The school works at communication, primarily using the School Fusion web pages and occasional robo-calls or Blackboard emails. They studiously avoid sending paper flyers home to reduce costs of printing and wasted paper. I find it sad when I hear parents complain they didn't know about something when there is so much information available. But it seems many parents do not take advantage of the available information resources. Not all teachers maintain their classroom School Fusion pages, which causes frustration for parents and students. That is an area they could use some improvement, perhaps some minimum standards (e.g. all quizzes and tests should be posted ahead of time). Overall, as a parent I can see the huge dedication this school has toward the education of all students.

Posted: December 4, 2013

There are some good teachers in Gainesville. Wish I could say the same for the principal. If your child is an introvert, this might not be the best place for them. My son made it through with excellent grades, but the experience was more traumatic than I realized until he was in senior high and started to open up about it. The school promotes a no bully policy, but it fails to actively follow it. In fact, some seemed to tacitly ignore any bullying.

Posted: October 4, 2013

This is my third year at Gainesville and I absolutely LOVE IT!!!! Every single one of the teachers are super nice and understanding! Gainesville has the BEST MUSIC PROGRAM in the county! The band, orchestra, and chorus are great and always win the top prizes! If your child is going to do orchestra, then this is the school to go to! The orchestra teacher is the best orchestra teacher in the world! She has been teaching me all throughout my middle school years and she is just wonderful! She makes class fun and energetic! Whenever I have a bad day and feel blue, I walk into her room and immediately feel happy! If you want to go to the best middle school in PWC, then this is the middle school to go to!!!! Take it from a student, this is definitely the middle school that you want to go to!!!

Posted: September 9, 2013

I hate this school. Please never go here. All of the teachers are rude, and will hardly give you time to speak before they decide to suspend you, or kick you out. a little love tap on the shoulder, will probably get a 5 day suspension. no one was even hurt. please do yourself/child a favor and do not go to this school.

Posted: May 12, 2013

Disgruntled parents who clearly have an axe to grind should be discounted. Gainesville is a great school - the BEST middle school in Prince William County!

Posted: May 12, 2013

Gainesville Middle School is one of the best middle schools in PWC. The teachers are of the highest caliber and the administration runs an extremely safe and positive school environment. If you want a first class education, Gainesville is the place to be!!

Posted: May 12, 2013

Gainesville Middle School is top notch! I currently have my third child attending and I feel that all three have had the best teachers Prince William County provides. I have always felt that my children were safe and they have never felt threatened. My son said that he loves the new security gaurd, he said that Mr. Pointdexter(sp?) is very friendly but the kids all respect him, Top Notch!

Posted: May 12, 2013

Gainesville MS is a wonderful school. Don't let the words of one or two people determine your opinion of the school. Look at the website or visit the app. Also, look at the school's profile. It is one of the best schools in all of Northern Virginia.

Posted: May 10, 2013

Previous review by angry parent should be disregarded. Gainesville is an outstanding middle school that offers a multitude of enriching classes for adolescents. There are no existing issues concerning behavior at GVMS.