Rusk Middle School

2761 East Cherokee Drive

School District

Cherokee County
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:17
Type

public

School Map for Cherokee County 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 May 23, 2024

This school allows bully’s and then punishes a child for standing up for themselves. A teacher watched a kid walk into her class stalking and trying to fight another kid and did absolutely nothing to help the kid that was in her class trying to get away.
Submitted by student on October 24, 2023

I am a seventh grader here, and this school is pretty good academic-wise, but the children are another story. I am constantly bullied for being who I am, and I am mocked and laughed at. The kids swear, say slurs, there are fights, and the class environment is often rude and messy. Not a welcoming environment for neurodivergent or queer kids. Teachers are kind, but prickly about work due dates. The orchestra program is incredible and much different than the rest of the school. 6th grade was the exact same experience. I failed ELA one quarter over an assignment that was overdue by 1 hour. Please just take your kid to a private school.
Submitted by student on June 22, 2023

As a previous Dean Rusk student, the teachers are really respectful and I love the teachers! They’re all so funny and sweet. One year all of the teachers on my team (classes are split into teams) used their own money to buy all the students on the team snacks and drinks. There’s constantly fun events going on.The education is WONDERFUL! There’s a handful more kids in advanced and accelerated (you learn the same stuff the grade above you is) than there are in the on level classes. There’s multiple different types of special education teachers and I know lots of them personally and they are all wonderful and so kind! I definitely recommend sending your kid here.
Submitted by parent on November 18, 2022

Like a few other reviews that mentioned negative comments about the DRMS principle, it’s comes as no surprise to me and I concur with them. To begin with my daughter attended Hickory Flat Elementary there was never a problem whatsoever all her years attending school there. But DRMS was a completely different story. There were some situations in which my daughter, who is an honor roll student, had some personal issues that were none of the schools concerns. She was questioned by a school counselor and my wife and I were never notified. When I responded to the school the principal was very defensive and spoke to me with an angry demeanor that I did not appreciate. There’s an old saying, it’s not what you say, but how you say it. This is the exact problem of this schools principal. I left the school with no information in regards to what I sought. I then filed a OPEN RECORDS REQUEST with the school and they denied any conversations with my daughter, which I knew was not true. So the person who handles OPRA requests just flat out lied in her response. I then complained to the superintendents office, spoke with someone who looked into the incident, but still nothing but denials from the principal and the school. This principal does not know how to talk to people and should be given a job where she has no contact with the public. My daughter is in 8th grade now and I can’t wait until she graduates the middle school and moves onto Sequoia High School, where I’m hoping and expect the administration there is more professional and honest than Dean Rusk, with an honest principal who knows how to relate to parents, because she is typical of the type of administrators that we are reading about in the news these days. For the record I’m a retired law enforcement officer who also worked as a school security director, working side by side with school principals and administrators. I know the difference between competent and unqualified, especially when it comes to relating to parents of students. Overall I think DRMS is an average to good school. It’s just a shame the principal tarnishes it’s image.
Submitted by parent on August 21, 2022

For the most part teachers have been great. If your child is neurotypical they will not have any problems. If your child has special needs, especially any that involve behavior, they will be written up and sent to admin at a drop of a hat. Administration is the most unfriendly I have ever met, the front office staff is cold and unwelcoming. Big changes need to happen to make this school up to par for Cherokee County.
Submitted by parent on March 22, 2022

We love Dean Rusk. My daughter is in her 2nd year their and we couldn’t be more pleased. We switched from another school in the county and she says she is much happier because she feels the teachers care about her. We have interacted with administration and have felt their decisions were well thought out and fair. The opportunities for extra curricular activities is plenty.
Submitted by parent on October 29, 2018

The experience we've had at this school has been awesome. My daughter takes advanced classes and band, and has blossomed. I also had a child that needed extra help in classes. Both were accommodated amazingly. Proud to be a part of such a well established school and community.
Submitted by student on May 15, 2018

There are many reasons why Dean Rusk is not the school you have always dreamed of. Some of those reasons include dress code, the fact that bullying is not really cared for. Also, the ladies in the front office treat students AND PARENTS rudely. Dress code is taken way too seriously, and it is not fair either. Most of the times if a girl is wearing shorts that are too short they get dress coded. However, if a boy does the same, no action is taken. Also, bullies do not get taken care of since teachers don't really care. More so, the food in the cafeteria is absolute garbage. Personally, I have found blue eggs in my salad multiple times. Furthermore, multiple people have found actual PLASTIC in their chicken. Not to mention, every time we leave the cafeteria the whole place is a mess. Students don't know how to behave during lunch or even clean up after themselves. One kid even slipped on peaches that missed the trashcan, and all the janitors did was watch. DON'T LET YOUR CHILD GO HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Submitted by parent on April 16, 2016

Dean Rusk Middle school focuses on dress code more than anything. I'd rather my children learn than be worried about what they wear is dresscode. Only the team 7s focuses on dresscode. All the other ones just don't care. Some of the teachers cuss and slam doors and just lose it. As an adult you should be able to control yourself whether student as acting up or not. You rarely ever see any of the principals doing their job, you catch them on their phones all the time meanwhile if a student is in their phone they get it taken up immediately. This school is not very recommended.
Submitted by parent on August 18, 2014

So far so good...? I have only met the band teacher (great guy) and the "office staff" so I am a little torn in my review. I have to say the front office staff seem to not know what is going on at their school and they are VERY rude! I hope the rest of the staff are more like the band teacher. I will update my post later on during the year. Hopefully by then the office staff will have found some other form of employment.
Submitted by teacher on May 12, 2014

The long and short of it is the administration is horrible. Most notably the Principal.
Submitted by other on November 13, 2013

This school is bad. The teachers barely teach. I can only think of one teacher on my team that actually teaches. When the teachers are teaching, the kids misbehave. They are throwing pencils, making weird noises, screaming, and they never stop talking. I get distracted easily, and these kids are distracting me. I want to go to college and get a well-paying job. These kids NEVER get disciplined. The teachers just say "Stop!". They don't take points off of their discipline cards. Honestly, that's what the cards were made for! I want to be homeschooled, just so I can learn. I never thought of doing that at my old school.
Submitted by other on July 30, 2013

Dean Rusk Middle school is a very good school curriculum wise, although I would just like to say that this school DOES NOT adapt to your needs as a student or as a parent. The staff members have a very poor school justice policy, and the front off staff are very disrespectful & blunt. They have some good teachers, but most teachers are unfair, unfocused, sarcastic and arrogant. I love their Rainbows program after my dad passed, although the principals don't give guidance counselors ANY time to do their job. To me, as a student the students are less playful than the teachers, and the seventh grade teachers focus more on fun and games than the value of learning in students. It is highly agitating and the majority of their staff are highly unprofessional and disrespectful
Submitted by other on January 30, 2013

Everything about this school says "TRASH." From the princable to the students who attend. I really do not know how this school has gotten 9 out of 10.. If there was a 0 stars option, i'd choose it. This is my last year at Dean Rusk, and I cant be more HAPPIER. The princables are disrespectful and unfair. If you breath by them they'll give you iss for a week. Along with the front office ladies, they are very rude.. Has even hung up on people before. The teachers DO NOT know how to teach.. theres only a handful of teachers that are actually GREAT teachers.. Other than that.. its like learning from a wall. This school is FULL of drama, fights, curse words (even some coming from teachers and staff members.) This school is VERY unprofessional in every possible way. The princables are new this year, which has made this school even worse. Very poor decision made by Cherokee County. I would not recommend this school to ANYONE. I honestly HATE this school. The princables and teachers make me want to become homeschooled.. Thats how bad it is. I don't feel safe at all, the food and bathroom conditions are just to the point where you want to throw up. And again, I VERY MUCH HATE THIS SCHOOL.
Submitted by other on October 16, 2012

As I attended DRMS and now have a family member attending DRMS I have nothing nice to say about the school. No one at the school, other than a few teachers, seem to have any idea what they are doing. They (most of the school, with some great exceptions) are careless. The school does not do a good job of preparing you whatsoever. They seem to have a different principal every few years, and none of them can get a handle on the school. As a current senior in high school, Dean Rusk provided me with the worst years of my "school life."