Fox River Grove Middle School

401 Orchard Street

School District

Fox River Grove Cons 3
Grade

5-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:11
Type

public

School Map for Fox River Grove Cons School District 3

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 07, 2024

I have consistently found Fox River Grove Middle School to be lacking in preparing students adequately for high school. The institution exhibits a notable absence of effective communication among administrators, educators, and parents. Moreover, the excessive distribution of detentions and the limited implementation of restorative practices are areas of concern. Despite periodic announcements regarding the adoption of new educational approaches, these initiatives often appear short-lived. The school offers minimal extracurricular activities and a restricted range of academic courses, with only a brief exposure to Spanish in the 8th grade. The rotation of Art, Stem, and Spanish classes, labeled as "Specials," further highlights the limited scope of offerings. Notably, the school's emphasis on superficial aspects such as the physical appearance of the building and the website design seems to overshadow the critical focus on students' academic development and social-emotional well-being.
Submitted by parent on March 07, 2024

Our decision to relocate to Fox River Grove was influenced by the appeal of smaller schools and reduced class sizes. Initially, we were enamored with the educational institutions. Over time, however, it became apparent that the administrative decisions made by the school board sometimes prioritize test scores over other essential factors. Despite the dedicated efforts of the exceptional teachers to nurture and educate our children, the district appears to undervalue both the arts and STEM subjects. A noticeable lack of collaboration between teachers and administration persists, leading to a significant rift. The frequent turnover of staff further compounds these existing challenges. They also don't have a very robust sports program, except for track. The board and administration don't seem to have any interest in growing the sports program. The track coach is amazing and goes out of his way to work with kids. He also inspires the kids on the field and in the class. He is probably the one saving grace at the school.
Submitted by parent on October 11, 2017

I love this school. They go above and beyond in a structured, supportive way for the kids and the parents. Helping them build a solid foundation for their future.
Submitted by parent on May 11, 2017

I love this school. They are friendly and supportive. However they do not coddle the children or the parents, their goal seems to be to prepare the kids for the next step in life and not making the kids and their parents happy. They are strict and hold the kids accountable for their work and their actions. This is a good thing! As this helps us parents to raise our children to become self reliant, well adjusted, hard-working productive adults who know you have to earn what you receive in life.
Submitted by parent on May 08, 2015

The principal at this school is unbelievable. I've had a "helper" for many years now who takes my children to school and back. On this particular day they locked the back door early, when she came in upset that now he was late because of their error, she was talked down to and treated like a second class citizen by this man! He actually had the nerve to yell at her and he was extremely condescending towards her. Then he sent me a personal email stating that my child has been late twice that semester. That email was an obvious attempt to try to get my worker in trouble. Unless on that particular day he sent emails to the entire schools parents with an update on how many times all the children were late- and I highly doubt it, as I asked my other friends who have students in the same grade. They recieved no such contact. I feel this is outrageous behavior and this man should not be allowed to be in charge of a monkey. I will be taking this to the board, he will not get away with treating the people who do nothing but help this way.
Submitted by other on January 27, 2015

Well, first of all i am a former frgm student and the teachers are very harsh if you don't catch what there saying quickly enough. There is no creativity. One more thing that i would like to add is that i bought a longboard for 350$ and they banned them from school. I think the should personaly ban longboarders, not the whole community.
Submitted by parent on April 14, 2014

The principal at fox river grove middle school is a very rude unprofessional man. He has the nerve to lecture me on timely arrival when his own staff closed the back entrance 3 minutes early so we had to go all the way around! When I called to complain about his conduct I got no satisfaction and it was said " he was having a bad day" such a boys club over there. Maybe if enough people complain (like the post before mine also had a complaint about the principal) The school board will take action and get us a kind, nice principal.
Submitted by parent on December 13, 2010

The teachers at the schools seem to be professional and for the most part caring. However, I haven't seen much program creativity or innovation among any of the grades. Maybe the curriculum doesn't allow for that. There are options for extracurricular activities but if you don't excel don't expect to play or participate. A standard you'd expect at the high school level but not necessarily middle school or elementary. While the small town feel has its appeal in many ways, it is also an environment that is a bit unwelcoming to newcomers and very cliquish. We tried to give it a chance but when we saw the children and parents were not about to warm up and other "new" families were expressing the same experience, we decided it was time to find another community.