R. Dan Nolan Middle School

6615 Greenbrook Boulevard

School District

Manatee
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:19
Type

public

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 January 11, 2023

We feel very lucky to have found this school. The teachers are top notch and the staff went out of their way to help us. Most importantly, my kids loved the school and excelled academically. The kids were thrilled with the many elective choices. Mine got involved with the TSA club and chorus and band. As a parent, I loved the email communications sent out to keep us in the loop and help support our kids.
Submitted by parent on September 18, 2019

I would have to agree with most of the reviews I’ve read. The staff is not the best, I have little complaints with the teachers, but the administrative staff......I have been shocked at the way they have spoken to me, that it makes me wonder how they treat the students.
Submitted by other on May 11, 2017

Nolan has been pretty good insofar as middle schools go in general. Our child's been there all 3years. Not too many behavior problems student body wise but that changes from year to year.The principal is just "eh" and we aren't too jazzed about him. He seems not to be on the proverbial ball, and def does not communicate well. Does not seem to be a people person or moreover, a student person, which is required in that position! A select few administrative staff clearly have been there too long. Behaving complacently and discourteous to both parents and students. That's very disappointing to see and def inexcusable. The school could use a staff update for sure.
Submitted by student on January 08, 2017

Giving this school two stars is very generous, while most of the teachers are nice and caring, there are some staff members that don't care about the students. There is very little discipline, an example of this would be the reward activities, all students get a card with 10 open spaces on it, 5 spaces for bad signatures and 5 spaces for good signatures. If a student gets 2 bad signatures (because they are breaking a school rule) they don't get anything but a warning. Also if they get two good signatures they cancel out the bad ones so the student can do the reward activity (that is meant for GOOD students). I can understand that this is for kids who occasionally mess up, but tons of students who are breaking the rules use it as a fallback so they can misbehave and then get a good signature. Getting a good signature is very easy because there is always one teacher who really doesn't care and can give you one for practically nothing. Overall my experience with this school has mainly been bad, most of the students are very rude and mean to one another, and some of the staff don't care, along with that there is basically no discipline.
Submitted by other on May 24, 2016

While some instructional staff are wonderful and many front office staff are very helpful, there are a few teachers at this school who do NOT teach at all, but rather sit at their desk (playing on Facebook) while the kids pass the unstructured time away playing on their phones or computers. Sadly the agriculture class is a joke and nothing was taught all year, rather the kids watched several movies and otherwise sat around playing in class. There was rarely time spent learning about the field of agriculture, animal and plant care, or farming. Unless you are active in FFA, you will not get anything out of the class. I'm surprised that this blatant disregard for the students or the teaching profession in general is tolerated at Nolan. There are so many wonderful programs and teachers here that it is a shame to keep a few that tarnish the reputation as a whole.
Submitted by parent on March 18, 2016

There is a lot of arrogance within the instructional staff, and they seem to have a (God Complex) and a high tolerance for bullying within the student ranks. In fact, some of the instructional staff behave like bullies if you have the nerve to ask for a parent-teacher conference. This school is way over-rated, and I wish that Manatee county would do a better job of managing these staff members. How do you even file a complaint against a teacher that you think might be a bit out of line? Based upon my past experience as a law enforcement officer, this school has the feel of a prison or correctional institution. Great job staff!!
Submitted by parent on May 27, 2014

There is a tremendous amount of bullying at Nolan. If you aren't one of the cool or popular kids or run with that pack, you'll be bullied. It starts with teachers and administration that look the other way, there is no leadership. Often the victim is blamed and made to change classes, tables at lunch, etc. My daughter suffered 3 years of this nonsense and now my son is finishing up 6th grade. We're considering pulling him from Nolan due to the bullying. They have high FCAT scores but socially, this school is abysmal.
Submitted by parent on November 13, 2013

My son started 6thgrade this year and we choiced into Nolan because of what we heard about their acedemics and the TSA programs. What I was not prepared for is the level of excellence in the teaching staff both from an acedemic standpoint and a dedication standpoint. I have emailed teachers at 2 in the morning with a panicked homework question and gotten answers before I got to work at 7:30 in the morning. Not just with one teacher, but with all of my son`s teachers. The support staff at the school is just as positive and helpful as the teachers. This school iswonderful.
Submitted by parent on March 06, 2013

This is my daughter's second year at Nolan Middle School and she loves it! She takes advanced classes with excellent teachers. Every person in that school goes out of their way to help parents. There is a zero tolerance policy on bullying. It's great that she can go to school and be in a safe, friendly environment and get a wonderful education. When my daughter was sick, the nurse was very kind and considerate and even let her stay in the clinic for an hour since I could not get away from work! I really appreciated her treating my child like she would treat her own :) This is a great school with very caring staff!
Submitted by parent on January 20, 2013

We just moved to this area this year and my child loves Nolan. This is the first school she has attended that did not have bullying at all. The kids are all so friendly and welcoming to new children and it was easy for my child to switch her electives around. I think this is the BEST middle school in Florida!!!
Submitted by parent on March 11, 2012

When I met the principal (Mrs. High) while touring the school last year, I found her to be warm and friendly. I couldn't believe that several middle school girls asked her for hugs-talk about approachable. This school has been amazing- I don't have a single complaint! My organized child became more organized and the transition to middle school was seamless for our family. Academics, after school care, teachers...thumbs up.
Submitted by parent on February 03, 2012

I believe three stars is a little too high but in fairness to the handful of amazing teachers I'm giving it a three. Aside from the Gal in the front office, the office staff and nurse are extremely cold and borderline rude. I had two children go through Nolan but finally pulled out after two years. So many people pull out for the same reason, lack of leadership, lack of discipline and bullying. Ms. High, while the sweetest woman that walked the earth is clueless when it comes to this age. When bullying has been reported by parents, she talks with the child/children involved and then tells the parents that the students feel bad and didn't mean it. No consequences. At first I thought it was my child, but when my second child came home with stories of friends being slammed against the wall, back packs grabbed and thrown down the hallway, I knew it wasn't an over reactive child. My children have thrived in their new schools. Turns out the there is no supervision in between classes. At their new school, the teachers stand outside their door in between classes giving bullies little chance to body slam or torment other students.
Submitted by parent on August 18, 2011

My daughter is entering her third year at Nolan. There is no doubt the culture and learning environment is far above the others in the area. We are so pleased to be part of this school and when it is time for mymyoungest to attend middle school he will go to Nolan. Mrs. High is amazing and her leadership is impecable. The faculty and teachers are genuine and that speaks volumes.