John C Dempsey Middle School

599 Pennsylvania Avenue

School District

Delaware City
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:17
Type

public

School Map for Delaware City 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 July 30, 2024

It is a good school except for the fighting and bullying the teachers are nice and respectful.the teachers are willing to help you learn and most of fighting is between the same groups of students.
Submitted by other on May 02, 2024

This school is a joke, I can’t get simple answers out of anyone, bullying is almost constant, they must all be blind or just don’t care to see it. Unless your kid is a straight A student, or excels in sports, good luck. Absolute nightmare of a school, the teachers like to seem like they have it all together but in actuality they don’t. I feel bad for the students who are behind, struggle with learning or are “Bad apples” due to bad home situations. Do better.
Submitted by student on April 27, 2023

Literally so much bullying and people fighting and nobody likes this school teachers are picking favorites and they will get mad and they have no digital experience besides the younger teachers but 6/4 on top
Submitted by parent on April 05, 2023

bad bad bad bad bad bad bad goofy SchOls
Submitted by parent on October 20, 2022

it is a so good school i like it
Submitted by parent on April 14, 2022

this school sucks its full of fighting and bullys people bully others just for there sexuality and the school claims they dont do this
Submitted by student on February 02, 2020

Overall, this school is notorious for bullying, failed leadership programs, overall negligent administration, and a flawed understanding of our lives and views. But, the teachers who are truly amazing, the friends I’ve made, the people I’ve met, and the experiences that I’ve had make it not seem so awful. I found my love for literature because of an amazing few language arts teachers who encouraged me to follow my passion. Would I recommend that you enroll your child here over every other school in the state of Ohio? No. Is it average at best? Yes. Did I have some bad experiences here? Yes. Did I have some good experiences here, as well? Absolutely.
Submitted by parent on September 09, 2019

Great school - 4 of our children have gone through, and all 4 have been placed in advanced classes. For the current Delaware, Oh population mix, the ratio of ethnicity and socio-economic mix in the city, the mix of children is well balanced.
Submitted by parent on August 05, 2018

I am disappointed with the scores and wonder why there are such differences between ethnicities. I do not feel there should be any differences there unless there is a problem. I feel this school has some positive aspects such as it's effective use of technology, but wonder if there are some diversity hurdles it needs to overcome.
Submitted by other on August 13, 2017

I would first like to begin with what I enjoyed here at Dempsey for my seventh and eighth grade years. First of all a good amount of my teachers I had for my seventh grade year will go down as some of my favorites ever! They understood my interests and really knew how to make class enjoyable. The after school program was enjoyable and people there seemed very nice and kind! But like all good things there is a downside, especially when it comes to Dempsey. Let me first say that there were good teachers, but certainly some rather harsh and rude ones as well. I won't name them specifically but this one teacher from seventh grade sent one of my very close friends crying out of class at the end of the day. My friend said that she wanted help on something and the teacher would not help out. SO me and another very close friend confronted the teacher about the issue since we were concerned about what had happened, and she just gave us attitude. Saying something like " we shouldn't get into other people's business, what do you think about that? " Another reason the two school years was not enjoyable to the fullest was sometimes conflicts and even full on fights between students and sometimes teachers would pop up, and the teachers either ignored the whole thing or just did not act quickly. But one of the biggest destroyers of my enjoyment was eighth grade Pre-Algebra. I not being a math person REALLY struggled in this class for the whole year, sometimes almost breaking down in tears because of how difficult and confusing the material was. I still get a negative feel when I reminisce on some of the more sad and confusing days spent in that class, for not understanding what was going on. My teacher was not the greatest help either. They seemed to always be in a grouchy or angry mood a lot and would seem to get angry whenever students did not do well on tests. They seemed to only be kind or not as mean to students who you would consider "popular" but not all the time. Not to mention that in eightieth grade Pre Algebra was extended to make the class even longer than other classes making concentration on an already boring and difficult subject more hard. Dempsey was enjoyable in some parts involving teachers & some classes but in many other aspects was a school experience that will eventually be shadowed by much better school years in the past.
Submitted by parent on November 01, 2016

I love the schools in Delaware. The teachers go above and beyond for the kids. The programs offered at Delaware City Schools are better than I've ever seen. Great place for well rounded learning and experiences.
Submitted by student on April 09, 2016

For starters, you're throwing 12-14-year old kids, who've either just started puberty or are in the thick of it, into one place together, so naturally, there's going to be a lot of drama and tension. However, said drama isn't handled too well here. I've heard some remarks more vulgar than anything I've heard on the Internet, and so far, the staff has done nothing to stop it. The school itself never gave the upbeat, positive vibe that other schools I've been to have given me. Like some reviews say, Dempsey can be pretty strict on dress code, especially when it comes to hats, but it's never been too big of a problem for me. I have really mixed feelings when it comes to teachers. Some teachers I've had have been amazing, and made me enjoy what I was learning about. Others would assign us a video to watch, hand us a packet to do when the video's done, and end the lesson there, and on very few occasions would they review the topics with us.. I've only heard of really disrespectful teachers from other kids. The Advanced Language Arts and Science classes are accelerated, not advanced, like some people pointed out, but Dempsey does offer actual Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, and Geometry courses for advanced math students. The performing arts and Drama Club programs, however, have been amazing! I've gotten a lot out of Orchestra, and I had a lot of fun doing musicals, which I would definitely recommend to students who are interested. In all, I haven't really had some of the best experiences at Dempsey, but I've got to give credit to the good ones I've had.
Submitted by parent on November 03, 2015

My daughter has had terrific teachers. Teachers are there because they want to be, not just because of a job. They made my daughter like math, which is A+ in my book. They are also redoing most of the schools.
Submitted by other on May 09, 2013

In my time at this school, I have found there to be a complete institutional failure. The administration on many occasions will let bullying occur, while at the same time punishing other students based solely on rumors. There is a complete tolerance of bullying by the students, and the teachers/faculty have no power to stop it because the administration will do nothing about it if they are a certain student.
Submitted by other on August 28, 2012

Dempsey is by far the best school I've ever went to. Unlike one review suggests, yelling is not a common event in the halls, and every teacher I've had treats me with respect and I do the same. Bullying is NOT a tactic used by teachers. The school spirit is up-beat and modern. In my year at Dempsey, there hasn't been ONE moment I didn't enjoy. The orchestra, band, jazz band, and choir programs are amazing, as well as the sports programs. Dempsey won't tolerate disrespectful kids, so don't let your kid fool you into believing that any teacher is doing anything wrong. Yes, there is a dress code. So what. Yes, they could loosen up a bit, but that shouldn't be cause for a 1 star review. From a "parent", especially. I am aware that Dempsey has changed a lot (for the better) over the years, so I cant disagree with any negative reviews. All I know is it's a lot better now. One previous review couldn't have put it better; Parents shouldn't be putting the school down, because they're not the ones here almost every day. I am, and I'm proud.