Dutchtown Middle School

155 Mitchell Road

School District

Henry County
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:18
Type

public

School Map for Henry 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 December 14, 2023

This school is horrible with a capital H. The 8th grade counselor does not care and the math teacher is ridiculously horrible. I 100% would not recommend this school to anyone. The teachers complain about a pay raise but don’t want to really teach. They don’t deserve anything but an extra training class on how to handle kids apparently. What happened to having teachers who truly care about learning like it use to be. These teachers are young and lazy now. The older teachers must’ve forgotten the information as well. And not to mention, I honestly believe the teachers don’t know the work themselves.
Submitted by parent on March 09, 2023

Amazing school with engaging staff who really care about the students' success.
Submitted by student on November 15, 2022

My personal experience at this school was terrible. I came from Cobb county expecting this district to be at least a little good, but it was awful. Teachers are always yelling at kids, trying to calm them down but it rarely works. Threatening about writing dog bites when they never do. Either that or silent lunch practically everyday. The bus drivers are always late. The kids are too much, a bunch of spoiled kids who don't care about anything. Also the school has like 2 books but they rarely use them. They have no online support websites for you to study on like a quizizz you can do on your own, or at least khan academy. The school lunch sucks so bad, that when I forget to bring my lunch, I just starve. I had panic attack, and my counselor didn't even help me. And lastly, the school spends their whole budget on a giant vault to put phones in instead of investing in education. DO NOT send your kids here. Big mistake. My grades have even dropped so badly since I came here.
Submitted by parent on October 04, 2022

This review only pertains to the front office staff of Dutchtown Middle School. I am in town from Alabama to care for my granddaughters while their mother is out of town. On October 3rd my 13 year old started her menstrual cycle. I made sure she was wearing padded underwear for the school day and dropped her off at 8:45am. I texted my daughter to let her know she had started her cycle. At around 9:20 my daughter asked if I had put extra padded underwear in her back pack because one pair would not suffice. I said no and told her I would take some back to the school for the remainder of the day. I went back to the school and dropped them off, at 10:00, at the front office. I explained the situation to the woman at the front office with all the details. Told her my granddaughter's name what was in the bag and why they were needed. I also gave her the teachers name as well. She told me she would make sure the items would be delivered to the teacher and made me feel the situation was under control.My granddaughter is special needs so when I pick her up the teacher walks her to my car. At 4:00pm I went to pick up my granddaughter and asked if the extra padded underwear were needed. She got a blank look on her face and had no idea what I was referring to about extra clothes.The front office staff DROPPED THE BALL and neglected to deliver the clothes to the teacher or the classroom. I called my daughter and explained the situation and she was livid. She immediately called them and they tried to pass the buck and asked if I logged the items in. How am I supposed to know to do this. Nobody explained any protocols to me AT ALL. They told my daughter if procedure wasn't followed it was not their fault. They NEVER offered any apology or showed any remorse for their negligence. A staff member even mentioned this is not the first time a situation like this has occurred. It has happened with children's lunches on several occasions. There is a definite problem with the front office staff and if the principal is aware and has not taken action to correct this problem then they are also part of the problem. Hopefully changes will be implemented to avoid situations of this manner in the future.
Submitted by parent on November 02, 2021

Teachers don’t communicate enough with parents. I strongly dislike the lack of support for our children. I have been waiting for the staff to help my child, and myself for two weeks. It should never take this long for the teachers, assistant principal, or counselors to respond/ assist with something that could possibly result in my child failing for the school year. If you want your child to be successful please don’t send your student to this horrible place. Schools are supposed to help our children grow in all areas. Support their potential for greatness as well as do their best to protect them from failure regardless to ratio of students/ staff. I have sent multiple emails and phone calls to only be ignored.
Submitted by parent on June 12, 2021

I have nothing buy RAVE reviews for this school. The educators were always prompt in answering my concerns and willing were very willing to assist us with our scholars needs. COVID year was tough for everyone but with the administrators help we were able to get the job done!
Submitted by parent on October 30, 2019

Horrible so far. It's way to difficult to get a teacher/ parent conference. Kids are being taught by a laptop but most of the teachers do not know how to use the applications they expect the kids and parents to navigate themselves. Asst. Principal of 6th grade doesn't seem to know all the new standards and rules, does not hold staff accountable, and does not follow through on his promises until everything blows up and he doesn't have a choice but follow through. The Principal is very level minded but she is surrounded by a lot of inadequate staff that will eventually bring her down. I had high hopes for Dutchtown but It is no longer the school everyone used to rave about. Don't move here to put your kids in school like I did. You will be highly disappointed. The 6th grade classrooms are overcrowded and good luck getting the staff to respond to your concerns and/ or questions.
Submitted by parent on June 27, 2019

Awful. Students are being taught by a laptop.
Submitted by parent on January 06, 2019

First let me say I grew up in Henry County and have lived here most of my life. We moved to this school district almost 10 years ago because they were fantastic. We have watched every school in this district go straight down hill in the past 7 years. This school, specifically. The communication between parent and ANYONE at this school is non-exsistant. My son has a 504 and I wanted to meet with teachers at the beginning of the year just to let them know I would be very accessible to help them in any way possible. I should have known from the way that meeting went that it would be a nightmare. The teachers barely looked up from their laptops and were even typing WHILE they were speaking to me. There was ZERO eye contact of any kind during the entire meeting. Once the year started, things really went down hill. I would email teachers only to have to call the school a week later after I got no response. Then I would have to go to the school after those phone calls were not returned. I met with the administration who promised things would change and I would be receiving responses from then on. That never happened. And then the bullying from the teachers started. We ended the school year with my son seeing a psychologist to make sure he wouldn’t harm himself because of the teacher’s actions, even to the point that she told him “who do you think they’re going to believe”!!! I pulled ALL of my children from this school system and am now homeschooling. It makes me really sad that my children don’t get a normal school experience but I’m certainly not risking their education by sending them here!
Submitted by parent on January 18, 2017

I really had my doubts about this school at the beginning. Now, I can say it's a good school. At the beginning there were some fights and I was worried about my son. I guess some kids didn't get along with other kids. But I have to say that the was controlled. Principal got all 6th graders together and explained them the consequences of their actions. After that, my son tells me that things changed at the school, and so far no more fights or arguments. I have sent emails to his counselor and his teachers for any questions I had and they responded on the same day and cleared my concerns. My son is attending 6th grade, on advanced classes, and so far he hasn't have any problems neither with his teachers nor his classmates. He in AP and has lots of homework and some projects to do.
Submitted by other on February 09, 2016

We moved last year just to get our son in a better school. The only focus at this school is discipline. I could never get a response from teachers when I reached out. I would email, send notes in with my son, call... And eventually have to physically go down to the school during school hours to talk to anyone. My son wasn't engaged in what was being taught because the teachers were too busy keeping everyone from fighting to make lessons interesting for the students. Hoodlums is the Perfect description for the majority of the kids going to this school. Since leaving, my son's grades have improved, his social life is healthier, and he actually looks forward to going to school each day. I would NOT recommend this school to anyone. Sacrifice the size of your house a little and live somewhere that your children can have a healthy educational experience.
Submitted by parent on January 08, 2015

My child is new to the school, and complains a lot about students constantly interrupting the teachers or misbehaving in class which takes time away from the overall learning/teaching. I think the school itself is good, but some of the students just don't seem to care about their work, and this, personally, starts at home. Teachers should have a passion for teaching and be able to convey this to the students, and hopefully create a better learning environment. Remove the students from the classroom who continue to show they don't care to learn, they are distracting and create a poor learning environment. Teachers, parents, and students can help to make DMS a better place!
Submitted by parent on December 05, 2014

I am highly concerned at some of the reviews I just read, as a parent to call children a bunch of hoodlums, is highly concerning. I also wonder about the demographic of some of these underrated reviews, especially in a time where race in this country has become a topic of prevalence. As for my child's experience he is excelling and loves his learning environment. I challenge those parents that have significant issues with the school to self-reflect with oneself regarding their real issues with the school. I have found my chances to be involved in the school, in addition teachers have been very accessible to parents. Lastly, for the teacher that said they hate this school you may want to consider another profession.
Submitted by teacher on October 11, 2014

I Hate This School, And What's Sad Is That I'm A Teacher! 1 Star Only!
Submitted by parent on May 14, 2014

The teachers not only are committed to excellence, but they are committed to helping children engage community life!
Submitted by parent on February 23, 2014

This school is horrible! I wish they would let you put negative stars but they don't. My daughter comes home everyday telling me about how many fights between children go on there. That is very unacceptable! And the parent involvement is 0; they only let you know about something if it's about your child doing something destructive, harmful, dangerous, etc. Plus they principal is never around to resolve your issue. The teacher quality is ok; my child learns everything she needs to but they don't pay attention to the children at all, and they let them run amuck! My daughter once told me that the teacher was teaching and there was a kid who sat by her and was touching him self. This is ok to the school? Well it maybe fine in their standards, but not in mine; as soon as we can Im pulling my daughter out of this school.
Submitted by parent on December 06, 2013

As all the other posts have said, the communication between teacher and parent is nonexistent! When you call the office you are never able to speak to anyone that can actually help you, you can only leave a message that will never be returned! The bullying is absolutely ridiculous and my child is afraid to speak up for fear of retaliation. A school full of hoodlums is absolutely correct! I will be doing everything I possibly can to get my child out of this school and somewhere that is actually conducive to his successful education!
Submitted by other on August 14, 2013

My school is awesome they let us have a good learning inviormentv and the teachers are sooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooo nice and they keep us safe and they also let us be social
Submitted by parent on March 07, 2013

Can we give negative stars? No books (unless you purchase them), fees for everything, teacher communication with actively involved parents is virtually nonexistent, and I could keep going. The school is more interested in ensuring that your child tucks their shirt in rather than the quality of their education. My advice, research this school heavily prior to enrolling your child. There will not be another year at Dutchtown for my child.
Submitted by parent on February 06, 2013

I regret moving into this school district. The school doesn't even have books. Each student is responsible for making a binder of handouts from which to study. Teachers don't keep parents informed and my child doesn't feel safe at this school. It is full of a bunch of hoodlums.