Oak Crest Middle School

675 Balour Drive

Encinitas, CA 92024

School District

San Dieguito Union High
Grade

7-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:22
Type

public

School Map for San Dieguito Union High 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 August 02, 2024

Middle Schools get a bad rep. OC is a great school. I have a a daughter going into 8th and she loves the school, vibe, classes. My son also went there and is now at LCC. He had a super experience. Great staff, safe, good kids
Submitted by parent on January 20, 2023

Great middle school. My son is an 8th grader and has had a super experience at Oak Crest. His teachers are fabulous, admin great, and the schedule is perfect. I'm not sure why people would rate this school anything less than 4-5 stars. I wish this was my middle school back in the day.
Submitted by parent on March 27, 2022

Non-inclusive. Lazy staff. Does not want to deal with learning differences.
Submitted by parent on November 03, 2021

I believe this school is a amazing environment for my children. They love the teachers, the people, the classes! It is lovely! My daughter had to distance learn last year and the school helped her grades stay A-Okay! She has met some of her best friends and favorite teachers! Electives are amazingly organized here and full of possibility to create new hobbies/passions. I 10/10 recommend this school and my eldest son went here some years ago. Nothing has changed, the positive atmosphere still remains to be outstanding. Super pumped for my youngest to begin next fall.
Submitted by student on November 03, 2021

not too bad actually kinda like it
Submitted by student on November 06, 2018

I mean so far it’s good but I do have some concerns. #1 the school doesn’t have very good gates for intruders which is pretty scary unlike my last school. #2 the disabled kids need to be watched better. #3 there more concerned with one earbud in then they are with more important things. #4 I have two not pleasant teachers. One teacher told us that we had the lowest grades she’s ever seen and the other makes it almost impossible for absent kids to catch up. #5the bathroom passes are horrible (just wanted to add that in) Other than that it’s got some good education. But I prefer earl warren more.
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2018

The school was great overall, and my kids enjoyed their time there with most of their teachers.
Submitted by parent on June 14, 2018

Miserable. Thank goodness it's only two years since we can't afford to just pack up and move.
Submitted by parent on July 10, 2015

Both of my kids went to Oak Crest and had wonderful experiences. They were challenged and yet felt very content and safe at that school. I'd recommend it to anyone with middle school aged children. We couldn't be happier with Oak Crest.
Submitted by parent on December 03, 2014

My son and his friends "hate it". Wow right, to hear them all resoundingly say they hate their school is surprising. My older son when there and last year, he loved it! So, its 50 50 for me. The teachers are Masters degree holders and 15 year plus teaching experience on average. The student body comes from high middle class to high class families majority. A small minority is needing assistance. What does that mean?, it means that parents at home tell their kids to listen, behave, do their work without bothering other students, get good grades and take school seriously! What does that mean for the teachers, its a cake walk! Here in lies the crux of the matter, you have top kids, with top supportive parents why isn't the school tops in the nation! Let alone having a large group of good kids with good parents saying they hate the school? I'll report next year, from my understanding 7th grade is harder than 8th; another conundrum in terms of education at Oak Crest. My question is: How do we get this school's MoGo back!, their to freak'n lucky with the student body and their majority pay scale per teacher to be anything less than a blue ribbon school!
Submitted by other on January 08, 2014

I go to Oak Crest right now and im in 8th grade, yes some of my teachers do use srcasm but in a fun way where all of the kids laugh. I absolutley could not be happier at oak crest it is an amazing school and i love it it has a fun atmosphere, fun teachers, and from what i've seen in the two years i've been here i have seen maybe two cases of bullying and thats it. The student body is super nice and just fun to be around!
Submitted by other on February 22, 2013

...and she isn't the only one. it seems that many teachers use sarcasm and teasing to make fun of students. sure there are kids who do not conform to a teachers ideal, but singling out that student for ridicule sure doesn't help anyone ... not the teacher, the class and least of all the kid the teacher is making fun of or teasing in front of his or her peers. Seems like a few teachers at oak crest need to grow up to be at least on a par with the student body. have heard more than one complaint about more than one teacher using this kind of class control. someone needs to tell them that they are literally barking up the wrong tree by barking at kids and embarrassing them in front of their classmates. they need to have bullying seminars for the teachers. bullying is something kids do and need to be corrected for doing. but who is correcting the teachers? should we tell the kids to just "walk away" from class when they are being bullied by the adult? should another student tell the teacher to "behave?" seems the administration doesn't. whose job is it to control bullying by teachers anyway?
Submitted by parent on February 12, 2013

Ms Walsh the life science teacher is the school's Bully! In recent years, a slew of books have offered parents ample insight into the minds of young bullies. But what if it's the teacher who screams, threatens, or uses biting sarcasm to humiliate a child in front of the class? Teacher bullying gets little attention, say Stuart Twemlow, MD, a psychiatrist who directs the Peaceful Schools and Communities Project at the Menninger Clinic in Houston. But his new study, published in The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, hints that the problem may be more common than people believe.
Submitted by other on January 02, 2013

Oak Crest is... a good school. Bullying is everywhere and the cops were there just a few weeks ago because of a guy doing something bad to this girl. If you hang out with the right people it's fine, but otherwise..
Submitted by parent on December 20, 2012

Oak Crest was great 9 years ago when my son was here. Now, most of the teachers my daughter has do not seem to care much whether she is successful or not. They have 1 counselor for over 800 students and trying to get a schedule change for an elective that is not working is impossible. The classes have 34-36 students on average, despite that fact that the state says they should have 31.8. I gave them 2 stars instead of 1, because of the 4 teachers my daughter has had in the last 2 years who actually cared. Their test schores are high because the feeder elementary schools have high scores. If your child is self-motivated the teachers are happy to work with them. If your child needs help or interesting assignments to stay motivated this is not a good school any more. The parents with students in honors programs are happy the rest of us are wondering what we have to do to get them to want to help all the students to succeed.
Submitted by parent on December 20, 2012

I have had several children attend OC in the last four years. Although there is a lot to be desired in the physical appearance of this school (which I can't for the life of me understand with all the bond passages over the years) and lack of after school activities and therefore, "school spirit," I will say we have had AMAZING teachers. They offer phenomenal Honors programs in both Math and English. It is only two years so I think most people have the mindset of in and out, which is kind of too bad as middle school should be much more exciting. No, all the kids do not do drugs. I find most kids to be outgoing, sporty, social, and friendly ...and very smart!!!
Submitted by parent on December 19, 2012

Oak Crest is a very fine middle school. My son started there this fall, and he says students are generally kind to one another and friendly. Academics are rock solid - not much innovative instruction so far, but classes have been interesting enough and challenging. The negative reviews posted here do not reflect his or our experience at all.