Herndon Middle School

901 Locust Street

Herndon, VA 20170

School District

Fairfax County Public Schools
Grade

7-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:11
Type

public

School Map for Fairfax County Public Schools

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 other on October 24, 2024

School is terrible. I would not recommend the school to anybody that is moving into their Arden area. Don’t move into the area if you want to go to the school of a lot of fights and a lot of stuff after school, but it only involves soccer. They really don’t have a basketball team for the other people like basketball they don’t play football, and they don’t have stuff for other kids who don’t like soccer so it’s like not that good of a school. I would never recommend it to anybody who is looking for a good school.
Submitted by parent on May 16, 2024

The new principal has really made a difference here. At first I was apprehensive about the school but my child never complains about disciplinary problems, the school has great communication from teachers to parents, and the kids learn a lot. The theatre teacher is amazing and gets even my shy child to participate. Lots of electives the kids have to choose as well and a robust after school menu of activities to choose.
Submitted by other on March 22, 2024

This school is very humiliating. Because people likes to call this school "The Drug School" because this school is so disgusting, unsafe, and hostile that everyone is doing violence and usin their phones.
Submitted by other on March 15, 2024

bets school you should send your student here
Submitted by parent on July 26, 2022

This is a great school! The teachers are supportive of students needs and educational goals.
Submitted by student on April 21, 2022

The school is decent, a lot of school fights but over all. a really fun community, good afterschool activites and teachers are extremely kind
Submitted by teacher on November 30, 2021

Principal needs to go. Her bullying of teachers has gone on for years causing many award-winning teachers to leave, some mid-year. Along with her assistant principal (later moved to guidance director) the two harassed numerous teachers, bullying them in front of students. The principal told me that it wasn’t important “to prepare students for the future”. I was dumbstruck. Why do kids attend school if not to prepare them for the future? Why Fairfax County has tolerated the behavior of this principal and her henchmen is beyond me. Disruptive students are rarely dealt with in a way that corrects their behavior, leaving those students who want to learn at the mercy of those who don’t. I would not send my child to this school.
Submitted by teacher on July 24, 2020

Moderate. I saw too many good students denied adequate learning time due to misbehavior by fellow students whom the administration refused to discipline. Every class survey included comments by students who said how they wished ____ could have been removed because his/her disruptive behavior took so much time away from class time. I would not send my child to this school.
Submitted by other on June 23, 2017

My daughter loved her time here and will miss Herndon Middle School. She feels ready for high school thanks to the classes that she took and the extra push her teachers gave her when needed.
Submitted by other on February 26, 2017

Great sense of community. The students will all go to HHS, not split up. My children loved going there. Teachers are caring and knowledgeable.
Submitted by parent on June 02, 2015

This school is a joke!,the teachers aren't very organized.They dont care if their students do well or not.At the beginning my child had one teacher and then she wasn't there,so they replaced her but then later the substitute got injured so they hired another teacher that didnt even know anything at all,he barely taught and listened to the students if they need help.This experience really ruined middle school for my daughter.
Submitted by parent on April 30, 2015

The teachers are very caring, professional and have been instrumental in helping our daughter excel in her classes such as math and science. I believe that another factor that has contributed to this has been the great friend she has been able to make at school that have provided a positive influence.
Submitted by parent on September 15, 2014

I was a little worried about HMS given that it's close to areas where I wouldn't want to walk at night. But, wow, was I surprised. The school has friendly, knowledgeable, progressional staff who helped my above average student to push boundaries and achieve his potential. And WOW, (gotta say this) the arts (music, choir and drama) program at HMS is OUTSTANDING. My son is now in 10th grade, but he still returns to HMS occasionally to say hello to his former teachers. What does that tell you about his memories of the school? For motivated students with involved parents, HMS is the place to be.
Submitted by other on August 10, 2014

I used to go to HMS, and I had the best experience there! The arts program was amazing (they took us on field trips, the teachers were great, etc), the classes and class choices were great, etc. I really loved HMS and am going to miss it so much.
Submitted by other on March 17, 2014

Herndon Middle School was a joke. The staff and administrators were "too cozy" with the students who provoked me and didn't take my reports seriously, rather blaming my parents and me. I was explosive and they gave me a ludicrous behavior plan that soon backfired because I was in the Quiet Room every day.
Submitted by other on January 17, 2014

This school is fine, but fine isn't good enough. Some teachers are really strong on favoritism and some have a serious lack of organization.
Submitted by parent on May 30, 2013

My son had,a tough transition to middle school. By half way through 8th grade, thing got much worse for him. Up to this point the support of the administration and staff were exceptional, but during our testing, diagnosis and implementation of a 504 plan, exceptional was no longer a could enough word. We had the most amazing support from teachers who put up with a lot of different challenges until we had a strategy in place. The administration and guidance departments bent over backwards to help us with anything we needed. Everyone has shown such kindness and genuine caring for our son. I cannot praise the wonderful people who work at this school enough. Loking forward to two more years with my second child.
Submitted by teacher on April 19, 2013

I have worked at HMS for 8 years. I have been a participant in the reforms HMS has undergone over the last 5 yrs. I have seen good progress in both school climate and std. performance. There are several dissatisfied parent reviews here, but this is truly the vocal minority writing out of frustration. To answer some of these concerns: bullying- there has been a strong anti-bullying campaign at HMS for the last 2 years; I have never witnessed nor had a student report any incidence of serious bullying. Rogue ideas- I have recently completed UVA's endorsement program in Admin. and Supervision; all of the reform programs and policies at HMS are completely research based, and are exactly the kinds of reforms being taught at UVA. Research is inconclusive whether HW benefits student achievement, but it generally says there is no relation. Teams- we got rid of teams because we found their intended purpose (a team of 4 core teachers to talk about the same student) was not beneficial, and now std. schedules are not limited. There is now greater communication across ALL teachers, rather than limited to a core 4 team. HMS is a very good school and I would have NO prob. sending my child to HMS.
Submitted by parent on December 20, 2012

I completely agree that the principal and 8th grade assistant principal are condescending and totally out of touch with this community. Like many parents my children have had some great, hardworking teachers. They have also had some that need to retire. The administration's policies of homework not counting, no penalty for handing in work late, and giving every assignment 50% (even if nothing was turned in) is utterly ridiculous. Those poor teachers who actually want to hold our kids to real-world expectations, like every other middle and high school, must be banging their heads against the wall. I can only imagine the frustration with the complete lack of work ethics and responsibility this is teaching the kids.