Chamblee Middle School

3601 Sexton Woods Drive

School District

Dekalb County
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:17
Type

public

School Map for Dekalb 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 student on February 29, 2024

the teachers are very nice and helpful but the staff is really bad the only staff member that is nice is Dr.Stovall and the school food is discusting.
Submitted by student on November 17, 2023

A current student here, our teacher tried to have us eat food in class as a treat before thanksgiving breaks. However, she was sick the day of, so we had to go to the cafeteria. However, a teacher (not going to say any names) said we could not eat it. We bought this food and we could not bring it. Waste of fricking food. And the worst part? A class was having a party right after the break, and they were allowed to have it! Don't go here. I'm warning you. It sucked.
Submitted by student on October 16, 2023

The educational part of the school is average and most of the teachers are fair with homework and discipline. The state of the school, however, is an entirely different thing. Today at school, a girl was served moldy food from the cafeteria. Do you know how many students depend on the cafeteria for safe, healthy food? Another big problem: the bathrooms. In the (girls) bathrooms, there are broken locks, clogged toilets, toilet paper on the floor, and I found hairballs as big as my fist on the floor today. Also, there are never paper towels or toilet paper. One time somebody wrote a whole paragraph on how much they hated someone on the wall of a bathroom stall! I feel like the school can spare money on fixing locks in the bathroom and giving us paper towels. Speaking of fixing things, there are many lockers in the 8th grade hall that are falling out of the wall! It is very concerning to me. On a more positive note, the dress code has been changed and is more fair to our female students now, as showing our shoulders isn't against the rules anymore. CMS has a lot of room for improvements, but it isn't the worst school academically. Extra: Great learning and racial diversity, a very inclusive school with kind teachers who care about teaching (at least in the gifted program)
Submitted by student on May 04, 2023

Hi, I am a student here, and I just want all the parents to know they don't send your kids here. Whatever you don't send them here. Here is the reason why you can't send them here. First, they don't clean up. Second, they have a lot of bugs. Third, they had a rat on my bus, and it was dead. And they always run out of paper towels in the bathroom. Fourth, the bathroom doesn't have doors. The toilets always have poop in there, which is very nasty.So I recommend your child find another school that has better reviews.
Submitted by parent on April 17, 2023

The teachers and admin staff at this school are non-responsive! When they finally do respond they have terrible attitudes and are nonchalant. During the two years at this school my child has endured racism from other students and extremely immature and taunting behavior from a teacher who doesn’t teach. Administration doesn’t care and treats you like another number.
Submitted by student on February 22, 2023

I am an eighth grader in the magnet program at Chamblee Middle School. The magnet program is a group of gifted students that are fed into Chamblee Middle School from Kittredge Magnet School. For the most part, students in the magnet program are given great opportunities to thrive in an educational environment. Outside of the magnet program, the school is pretty much a dump. The school has students spend two periods a day on "connections". These include classes you would find in a normal school like Physical Education, Art, and Health. These classes are somewhat pointless (especially parts of Physical Education, where literally all we do is run laps). Then there are connections like Exploratory, Business Education, and Invention and Innovation. These classes are completely useless. It feels like the teachers spent 2 minutes putting together a curriculum that's only purpose is to keep us in the school building for an extra two hours. For instance, in Business Education, the only thing we did was watch Shark Tank and videos on why cyber bullying is wrong. I could list things like that for all connections, but I'd like to make a better use of my 2500 characters. Even worse than the classes, some of the "teachers" act like they could have just gotten out of prison. While, yes, some of them are great, I feel like most of them have terrible attitudes and undeserving take their anger out on their students. Not to sound biased, but the students outside of the magnet program (and occasionally inside the magnet program) generally make bad decisions. Vandalism is prominent at our school, as well as all forms of bullying, verbal and physical. The school itself is a mess. The janitors barely do their jobs, and there's stuff all over the floor. The lights in the Boy's locker room have been out for months now. As well as the kiln in the art room. Vandalism that appeared at the beginning of the year is still there. I've begun to wonder whether we actually have janitors or not. In summary, Chamblee Middle School surely deserves their 1 star rating. There's countless other options for education in Atlanta, and if you're considering where to send your child, I promise you that Chamblee Middle School is not the right choice.
Submitted by parent on January 06, 2023

My child was at a local elementary school and automatically transferred to this middle school. Her first year was virtual and a complete disaster. When she went back in person, I didn’t believe her that it was a train wreck. My kid took some photos with her Chromebook of things like giant holes in the ceilings dripping water, thermostats that read 83 degrees, and more troubling topics. I started listening to the stories of teachers screaming at the 12 year olds about how they will fail in life and how no one cares about them. My child also has called me multiple times at school about how the administration dress coded her for wearing skirts while the boys are in booty shorts and some with no shirt on at all. My daughter just had gym class last term, and she said the county was there examining the rat infestation in the locker rooms. Personally, I find that disgusting and I wouldn’t go to school in these conditions. Teachers also are in high demand. One teacher got fired and hired a week later because there was no one to fill the roll. Some teachers have been incredibly helpful but most are awful and don’t even teach, while still expecting the kids to learn the information. In my own experience being in the car line, at dismissal and picking up my child early, and that type of deal, the administration has too much power. They give ISS for anything and they take kids phones without warning. My daughter even told me a sub tried to take a diabetic girls phone while she was checking her blood sugar. This is unsafe and unfair. The school may look ok from the outside and at open house, but it’s an outrage. I’d pull my kid out of the school gladly, but she has so many friends and says she’ll just wait it out until she gets to high school. If you’re gonna send your child here, think twice. Maybe the extra money for private school is worth it.
Submitted by student on June 13, 2022

Hello,I’m currently a student at Chamblee Middle School and since it’s summer,I wanted to write a review about my last year experience. I think Chamblee Middle is an ok school but has a lot to fix.The bullying is one of the things. I’ve never gotten bullied a lot but other have and it’s horrible. The lunch is also something. The students at Chamblee shouldn’t be served frozen milk with a uncooked burger as a meal. The teachers don’t really help the situation too. Most of them were ok but some of them made school miserable. The last thing is about the bus. When I went on the bus,It took me an hour to get home but I literally live only 3 minutes away from the school.Their also aren’t enough bus drivers so it’s very understaffed. In conclusion , Chamblee Middle School isn’t the worst school but i wouldn’t recommend it.
Submitted by student on April 18, 2022

Hi there! I’m a 7th grader currently at Chamblee Middle School. I give it three stars and here’s why:Overall, I enjoy and look forward to coming to school everyday. My friends are great as well as my fellow classmates and everyone in my grade is pretty supportive. My teachers last year were questionable, but this year? They are amazing! I love all but one teacher (which is good considering it’s middle school). I’m taking Spanish 1 at the moment and the teacher is incredible, I’ve learned so much! All my core classes are great other than Social Studies, which I am not learning anything and I honestly feel bad for the teacher. Something I wish was different was Chromebook supply. If you are sending your child here, get them a personal laptop AND apply for a school Chromebook even if your child doesn’t use it everyday. Speaking from experience, the school runs low on Chromebooks on state testing days and having your own will save you 6 hours waiting in the cafeteria for a computer. Though I wouldn’t rely on a school Chromebook on a day to day basis, considering that they fall apart very easily and the school cannot replace it until at least a couple months. Bathrooms are a bit unsanitary but work at the moment. Most teachers do their job well and all classrooms just got updated smart boards which makes learning a lot easier on kids and teachers. The administration is a bit overbearing and overall disorganized. **Kittredge Kids & Parents**If you are coming from Kittredge Magnet school, you will be separated from everyone else. These kids are divided into a different team (or group of teachers and kids) called 7C and 8C (depending on your grade level). 7C and 8C always get these special privileges and the school uses and treasures these students as a way to brag about what great staff and programs they have. I’ve heard it’s a ton of homework and kids absolutely hate it. So, try to stay out of that if you can.If you can get into 6A, 7A, or 8A, that’s your best option. But of course some teams may have different accommodations for different people. Middle schools are rough all over, but Chamblee isn’t the worst. If private schools an option, I’d go with that but this is a great alternative public school. Very safe and lots of Dekalb security out front.
Submitted by parent on March 27, 2022

Please do not ever take your kids here. Bathrooms are discusting, school food is worse then usual, the administrators think that they can just send kids home crying and give them suspension over small things like talking while in like ( YES this happened to a kid before.) There is so much bullying everywhere and instead of dealing with them they spend time yelling at kids who talked during " the moment of silence" which is a useless 7 second period of silence that does absolutely nothing.This school can make kids feel insecure and stressed. Once again, school not recommended.
Submitted by other on January 27, 2020

Awful. Please take your kids to a better school. They will be respected and feel like they are in a safe environment.
Submitted by parent on July 01, 2018

My older daughter attended this school three years before and we had a much better experience. They violated my younger daughter's civil rights due to her medical condition and it took the administration almost five months to resolve it and the principal did not come to one meeting. I was about to file a formal complaint against the school when they finally agreed to comply with the law. There were continuous issues with communication with the administration and principal on any important issues we had. The last week of school my daughter was a victim of cyber-bullying and nothing was ever done to resolve it. They simply asked her to not come back to school the last few days. I could write paragraphs and paragraphs about how terrible my daughter's eighth grade was. We really expected more from the school.
Submitted by parent on August 27, 2017

Great School !! First year and we're very happy with the teachers and experience.
Submitted by parent on June 11, 2017

Not a good experience. All around improvement needed.
Submitted by parent on April 09, 2017

We sent our child here from 6th - 8th grade and regret it. In the 3 years here, I can count on one hand, the number of teachers that I would consider strong. There are some that are absolutely abysmal. And there tends to be a lot of turnover. My child had 3 English teachers and 2 science teachers in 6th grade. The principal and leadership are weak and let many of the kids run around crazily. Fights are common and learning is rare. The other major issue at CMS is that it is two schools within 1 school. There is the magnet program and the resident program. On one side of the school is the magnet students and on the other side of the school is the resident side. The magnet students get priority over the resident students in everything. The magnets are told they are smarter and more special even though there are many resident students that haven't been lucky enough to get their name drawn in the lottery. It makes for a very divisive atmosphere among students and even parents. Magnet students get smaller classes, more individual attention, and are treated as the "cream of the crop" while resident gifted/high achiever students are crammed into classes of 30+ students with inferior teachers in many cases. It is so bad that we are opting out of Dekalb County Schools next year. Those in the magnet program may feel the school meets their needs, but if you can't "win" the lottery I would advise to look elsewhere.
Submitted by other on February 09, 2017

School has improved greatly over the past five years. The building is relatively new (10 years old), student body is diverse, teachers are hit and miss but many of the less motivated teachers have retired over the past few years. The school grounds and sports/recreation fields could use some attention (track in particular). Ultimately the school has improved as the community around it has transitioned from that of mostly retirees and upper middle aged empty nesters to young families with school aged children that are moving here because of the strong schools and supportive city (Brookhaven).
Submitted by other on January 29, 2015

I used to love going here- until this semester. There has been a big bullying case in the magnet side and people have been reporting it, yet nothing has happened to the bully the past times people have reported it. It is serious verbal bullying and threats that need to be taken care of. The teachers are amazing but the vice principals in 6th and 7th grade lack a lot. I also do not feel respected or independent here at all. They watch literally everything that you do. They like to threaten students with silent lunch and ISS. I also hate the orchestra program. The teacher has little respect for his students.
Submitted by parent on June 02, 2014

Chamblee Middle School has been a great fit for my rising 7th grader. We did the "shadow-for-a-day" Bridge program about a couple weeks before 6th grade began. My child didn't have any "locker issues" (at least that I know of). The principal is extremely responsive and supportive. Ms. Jackson typically responds back to an email in less than 24 hours. She fully supported the Chess Club bringing in an outside instructor who, of course, passed the county's requirements. The 6A teaching team was also extremely responsive with any questions that I had. The band program pushes the students to excel!
Submitted by parent on February 25, 2014

My child recently started in the CMS Magnet program and so far we are very pleased. Teachers and staff do their very best. This is a big improvement from our child's previous school. Our child complains that the teachers give a lot of work. That makes us happy because that means more opportunity for learning. By the way, our kid works hard and makes straight "A"s, so for me this is proof of good teaching. The biggest problem in K12 education in my opinion is lack of discipline. Any school's staff is prevented from applying any meaningful punishment, so they contact the parents. I have seen so many parents blame the teacher or school rather than taking personal responsibility for their child's future. Parents: if you want your child to succeed, YOU have to spend time with them every night. Get involved. Work WITH teachers. Punish your child if they misbehave in school, but also praise and encourage and reward them when their grades are rising. Don't do their homework for them, but support them. Explain why they are working - to build a successful future career which will allow them to have the lifestyle they want. It's up to you...
Submitted by other on October 08, 2013

coming from a magnet student, the school overall sucked, but the learning experience was pretty good and smooth. just beware the administrators and Mr. Coile