Fitzsimmons Middle School

57093 US Highway 285

School District

Platte Canyon 1
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

School Map for Platte Canyon 1 School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on October 08, 2022

Zero stars . This school turns a blind eye to bullying after it is reported. Counsler and principles do not have childrens best interest in mind. I have asked for help from the consuler and she said oh i can not do that and does not look into bullying. In an emergency i asked the principal to call me and he said he could not call me because he was at football practice. Principles do not address bullying. I would think twice before sending my child here if you have a choice. It has even been witnessed a certain teacher bullying another teacher and adult. Wow Bad ENVIRONMENT They are all there to just collect a check in my opinion. We are leaving this district!!!
Submitted by other on June 14, 2016

amazing staff and leadership that not only are top educators, but are teaching the kids to be productive citizens in the community that we love.
Submitted by parent on August 23, 2014

As a parent with 2 kids moving though Fitzsimmons Middle School over the past 4 years I've watched significant change begin to grip this school. The complacency and "good enough" attitude of the past has been replaced by consistent pursuit of continuous improvement of performance, and student, parent, and community engagement. The means of improvement is clearly through transparent decision making based on data-supported best practices in education today. The core values begin with "all for the kids" and are supported by principles of challenge and support for EVERY kid, teacher focus on successful content delivery through one-to-one connections with students, and time on task. Parents who choose to educate themselves about how the best schools in the country and world are run, and compare those findings to what's happening at Fitzsimmons will be pleased with what they find. Kids learn not just from textbooks and tests, but from what they experience and the environment they live in. The environment at Fitzsimmons SHOWS kids everyday examples of how adults take personal responsibility to continuously improve themselves and the school system in the service of others.
Submitted by parent on May 16, 2014

Since Rim Watson took over as the principal at FMS the whole attitude at this school has become rigid and has created stressful atmosphere for the students.
Submitted by other on November 20, 2013

During my time of being in the school, I hated every second of it. Nobody was nice toward me or anyone else. The school itself (without teachers or students) is beautiful. The lunch room is huge and has a fireplace and all sorts of neat things. The students and teachers here are not very friendly at all.
Submitted by other on November 02, 2013

This school is doing great things. The staff is enthusiastic, capable, motivated, and held accountable for their teaching results. The principal and teaching staff work as a team to continuously improve the performance of the school based on hard metrics. They focus on and believe the success of every student. Whenever a student is struggling with a topic, the staff takes immediate action to bring that child up to speed. The primary focus is on the core subjects of math, reading, and writing and every teacher, no matter what subject they teach places an emphasis on literacy. They have outstanding music, art, and physical education programs and the school's PE teacher was recently named Colorado Teacher of the Year. This school is on track to be rated in the top ten percent of Colorado middle schools.
Submitted by other on June 09, 2013

This school has serious culture issues that need to be improved. There is little recognition or support of special needs or different learning beyond such difficulties as Downs Syndrome. Mental difficulties such as Autism which are more subtle are ignored. Combined with a permissive culture of all behaviors by the teaching staff and this school has one of the most damaging environments I have ever seen. For those students who are autodidactic it has the materials to advance quickly, yet those same students could benefit far more from Kagan strategies. Dr. Eric Mazur the Dean of Harvard's Applied Physics department has statistically demonstrated how all benefit from this type of model which he has renamed peer instruction. Implementing technology such as Promethean boards along with continuing education classes for the teachers could help to give the teachers the tools they need to make this school into one of the best in the state as the small class sizes allow for plenty of interaction. Perhaps I should heed Voltaire here and remember Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien. This school can remain my horror story for graduate students.