Jackson Middle School

Posted: April 28, 2026

I am currently an 8th grader at Luther Jackson. I think this school gets a really bad rep, but there are a lot of great kids who go here. The teachers here are TERRIBLE. I have had very few good teachers in my core subjects. Not saying there aren't good teachers, but a lot of them suck and don't actually care about students and their well being. However, I have still really enjoyed my time here. One of the best things I think you can do in middle school is make a lot of friends. Its really important to make positive connections with others, and there are a lot of great opportunities for that. School ends pretty early and there are many great (completely free!) after school opportunities which have greatly improved my middle school experience. I specifically love theatre here. Our current theatre teacher is absolutely amazing! At theatre, I feel comfortable and safe. Everyone is free to be silly and fun, but we still learn so much and our shows always turn out great. I don't know much about the councilors here, I had a really bad experience with councilors in elementary school, and since then I've never really trusted school councilors, even though I haven't actually met some of them yet. I take all AAP classes, so its definitely a different experience from someone in gen Ed. Most of the students in my classes are pretty nice, as to be expected from a middle school. I don't think our school handles the so called "problem children" very well and the school board does little to help the teachers who have to deal with annoying students. I feel like this school is pretty good, it won't hinder your education or anything like that. I do think that you have to really try to be social and you have to work hard in some classes (because some teachers don't understand the work "teach"), but overall, I've had a pretty good experience here.

Posted: April 28, 2026

Posted: April 28, 2026

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Posted: June 27, 2022

My child just finished the AAP at Jackson Middle. My child picked Jackson over Thoreau because we heard that Jackson AAP was more rigorous than Thoreau. We are not sure if our decision was right any more. The History teacher was great (One star because of him). The Math teacher was good. However, I have got the impression that the Science teachers for both the 8th and 9th grades do not know what they were teaching. It is a shame because many kids, who love science and hope to get into TJ, chose Jackson over Thoreau. These teachers are not catering to the needs of these kids. The French class was chaotic throughout the year. The teacher has no classroom management skills. She has kept getting help from the admin office. Not qualified at all as a teacher. The admin was eager to dish out disciplinary actions so that they could have a record that they did something in case any future trouble occurs. I am writing these things here because we probably would not have chosen Jackson had we known what we know now. I do not know about Thoreau, so I am not necessarily saying that Thoreau is better. If you are parents/students who are choosing between Jackson and Thoreau, get as much information as possible.

Posted: June 27, 2022

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Posted: October 11, 2018

They don’t care about students. There are incidents in their classrooms with the students and teachers just don’t say anything.

Posted: October 11, 2018

Bullies are supported and protected. There are no disciplinary actions for them.

Posted: October 11, 2018

High level of bullying. Teachers and administrators don’t do anything about it.

Posted: October 11, 2018

My son is being called a “sped” by other students and the school don’t care. They find it normal.

Posted: October 11, 2018

My son is a victim of Bullying. As per the Assistant Principal, Tony Salgado, bullies don’t know why they do it due to their age. He justify the bullies behavior.

Posted: October 11, 2018

Terrible. Needs better administrators and people who care. Bullying is normal for them.

Posted: August 29, 2017

Posted: August 29, 2017

Posted: August 29, 2017

Posted: August 29, 2017

Posted: August 29, 2017

Posted: August 29, 2017

Posted: August 29, 2017

I was in the AAP program at Luther Jackson for two years. All honors classes are terrific. The students in AAP are very successful and most teachers do a terrific job. I felt challenged, but not overwhelmed. However, whenever I would see a gen ed class in progress, I was always shocked. Kids would slump back in their chairs and show up to class 20 minutes late. There was definitely disrespect towards the teachers and towards other students. I was lucky to be in AAP because I truly believe that I would have a much worse education in the general classes. Another problem with the school was the sexism, especially when it came to the dress code. Boys would wear pants that would hang so low, they would fall down if they bent over. I never saw a teacher say a thing about this. But girls were CONSTANTLY dress coded for spaghetti straps or shorts. There is also sexual harassment that is overlooked by the administration. My friends and I had sever issues with bullying, especially by boys, and we went to the counselor several times to report it. The counselor sometimes said "well what do you want me to do about it?" or promised to look into it and never did. bullying is ignored, even when students report it several times, but I think that is a problem in all FCPS schools. One good thing though is the music department!!! 40% of the school is involved with it and the teachers are really great. I would recommend this school to AAP students, but not to anyone else.

Posted: September 14, 2016

Posted: September 14, 2016

Posted: September 14, 2016

Posted: September 14, 2016

Great school with very good teachers. My son is in AAP program the second year, and we never regret choosing Jackson MS over Thoreau MS.

Posted: February 15, 2016

I have a 7th grader at LJ(Advanced Program) and we love it! Excellent school, great administration. Every time I sent an email to either teachers or administration, I get an answer the same day. The teachers are awesome! I'm so glad I sent my daughter to LJ versus Thoreau (which AAP still not at the same level as LJ). A lot of parents doesn't like LJ because a lot of the students are on free or reduce meals. To those parents I say, the joke's on you! Homework decent, first month tough, but after that they get use to it and learn how to manage their time. She's also taking Algebra and doing great!!!

Posted: February 15, 2016

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Posted: September 6, 2015

Posted: September 6, 2015

Certain teachers were allowed to give 20+ pages of homework a weekend (no, I'm not joking) without any amount of interference from the administration.

Posted: September 6, 2015

Posted: September 6, 2015

Overall, I appreciated most of the teachers. However, that was the only good part about LJ. The administration was disorganized and treated teachers poorly, and I know many skilled educators who left because of this. Students in general had bad attitudes, and it's no wonder why - boys could get away with anything (except tardiness) while girls were frequently "dress coded" and faced rampant sexual harassment that the administration did not care about. Heck, boys could wear shorts so low their entire underpants were visible, yet did not face consequences. I also find that at AAP (advanced academic program) schools, kids constantly compare intelligence, without focus on growth or how to work together to do even better. I think the ones who tried their best to stay out of that culture wound up doing the best both emotionally, academically, and socially. I think LJ has great potential, but I believe the administration needs to do their best to care equally about everyone, especially kids who are not receiving the support they need at home. There are some truly wonderful teachers and kids here, but the administration needs to learn how to handle everyone's needs more adequately, especially the teachers'. Also, I would not recommend attending the school if you/your kid is slated to go to Marshall for high school, as I was, but never felt like I was receiving the information I needed for the transition there, as the entire focus was on Falls Church, Oakton, and TJ (don't you know? Your parents/teachers will only love you if you go to TJ! /sarcasm), with a hint of attention for Madison. I guess in the end, attend at your own risk. I only went here because Thoreau didn't yet have an AAP - now that it does, I *highly* recommend it over LJ.

Posted: December 1, 2014

I am a former student of this school, and the two years I spent there were the worst years of my life. The teachers were largely apathetic and incompetent, and rarely showed the students or parents respect. Bullying was rampant, and no matter who you complained to, nothing was ever done about it. I left Luther Jackson worse than when I went in. It has been a while since I left this school, but literally everyone I've spoken to who has gone to this school since has told me that things haven't improved at all. If you care about your children at all, you will avoid this school like the flu.

Posted: November 15, 2014

top notch teachers; no violence, drug, or bullying issues; population of just decent kids - no snobs, no cliques; everyone gets along and accepts each other. no "rich" spoiled kid, appearance and things are everything. great academics, no matter the student need or ability... super advanced academics program. wonderful and dedicated teachers

Posted: September 16, 2014

Hello, I'm currently an 8th grader at LJ. As a student, I would say jackson is an okay school. The AAP program is pretty good, and they have a great orchestra department. In my opinion LJ is a very underrated school.

Posted: September 13, 2014

Terrible staff and administration. I sent in an email stating my concerns about one of the employees who is involved in substance abuse and they did not bother to even reply. They do not care about the students or the parents.

Posted: September 2, 2014

We just moved to the area and went in last week to try to register the kids and they had absolutely no interest in registering the kids. Literally asked me what i was doing there and refused to give me any information telling me I had to wait a week for an appointment. I hope the teachers are more concerned than the staff.

Posted: May 14, 2014

Also, Ms. Porter retired. There is an interim principal. His name is Mr. Timothy Arrington. If possible, please update.

Posted: March 14, 2014

I seriously think this school deserves a 10 out of 10 instead of a 8 out of ten.

Posted: August 20, 2013

My child went to Jackson and now he is in harvard university!!! I love this school and go tigers

Posted: May 15, 2013

Old school with state of the art academics! What a gem of a academic campus . Great arts program as well! Nothing bad to say..

Posted: October 21, 2011

I was in the GT Program for 7th grade. It was simply Amazing, we had very though teachers and very strict rules. There was not one fight, and i never saw anybody getting bullied. The after school programs were amazing, we had an amazing science Olympiad Team, and even had a student go to national competitions and the Music department was unstoppable. There was a very bad teacher, Whose name started with a Y, and didn't know a thing about math, but she is no longer a 7th grade teacher. Overall, this school is amazing, and is very well prepared to handle the very motivated GT students, who are intellectual superior to all the other students.

Posted: July 15, 2011

Hello, I was a student at Luther Jackson for the seventh and eighth grade.When i was in 6th grade,I remember pondering with my parents about whether to go to Luther Jackson or move and go to a school.I chose to attend LJ.As a student who attended LJMS for all two years without missing a single day (besides the days I missed for orchestra like Districts or Competition trips),I can honestly say that LJ was amazing.I was in the GT program and I felt that LJ was VERY underrated.LJ gained a bad reputation from all the rumors among the parents,but most of those rumors are false.There were hardly any violence.No more than any other school in the county. LJ also had various extracurricular activities.I was in Science Olympiad, MathCounts, Literary Magazine, National Junior Honor Society and a few other clubs. I stayed after about three times every week. I was in orchestra and we got first and best overall @ the Herhsey Music competition.Next year, I will be attending TJHSST, the best public high school in the country.Thus, LJMS is really not a bad school as it is alleged to be.Recently the field got renovated, so that's an extra positive for future LJ tigers as well.Overall, great school.