Lanier Middle School

2600 Woodhead Street

School District

Houston Independent
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:20
Type

public

School Map for Houston Independent 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 November 08, 2024

Lanier is a Vanguard ("gifted and talented") magnet school. As a result, the school's students score relatively well on various standardized tests. This leads to high placement for Lanier in various school ranking systems that put significant weight on these test scores. This, however, has nothing to do with the administration or teaching at the school, which are average overall on a good day. As at any large school, teaching quality runs the full range: from excellent, to OK, to shockingly bad. The school has had frequently changed principals, with little success at finding the right fit.The moral of the staff is low. E-mails from students and parents frequently go unanswered (or inappropriately answered). There is apparently no top down leadership in this regard. The current principle seems to go out of his way to be unavailable and seems to make questionable hiring decisions. Teacher communications to parents sometimes refer indirectly (or directly), to a lack of administrative support.The physical school structure is very poor. It reeks of mold and the like, and perhaps some of the low moral of the occupants can be attributed to "sick building syndrome." If any building truly qualifies for this diagnosis, it is Lanier Middle School.Drop off and pick-up of students is pure chaos. There are way too many cars in a relatively small area, and it is just a matter of time until a student is seriously injured or killed.The main advantage to the school is that, because many students come from homes that value and support education, the learning environment is better than most alternatives, and there are less serious discipline problems. It is on this basis, and the absence of better alternatives in HISD, that I give the school 2 stars and a recommendation Again, this upside has little or nothing to do with administrators or teachers or HISD.
Submitted by other on October 15, 2024

No just no worst school ever don’t recommend
Submitted by student on October 09, 2024

I am a student at Lanier and I am not happy at all with my experience throughout the last three years. In 6th grade they give you soo much homework and the lessons aren't very engaging at all. The teachers just tell you something that you are supposed to learn, but they just give you a packet of work to read by your self. The teaching really depends on which teachers you get. Most teachers are very mean and un-interactive with students, causing many students to either get bad grades or even end up failing. I am a very good student and I keep up with as much as I can but It's very difficult to learn something important and really understand what that learning means, when a teacher doesn't even teach you well enough to understand it. The amount of bullying that happens at this school is insane. Kids are running around the school everyday slinging slurs of all kinds, and saying the most diabolical and rude things you could ever think of. When I think of Lanier, I think of a school with poor teachers who can't even keep a classroom quiet or an administrative branch that doesn't deal with students as correctly as they were taught to. 8th grade has so far been atrocious, there have been several kids who have gotten suspended for both crazy, and unreasonable things. One kid got suspended for vaping in a school bathroom. On the HISD discipline papers it very clearly states that vaping is not a suspend-able offense to the school, but it is an immediate transfer to the DAEP. I myself almost got suspended from playing the Soviet union anthem. The Soviet union anthem is not a suspend-able offense, nor should it be threatening to another student. I don't care if you are Jewish, and you feel uncomfortable, it is not something that you should report somebody for. Instead of that you should use it as an opportunity to learn the history of the very unfortunate events that happened in History. Just to say one more time, I would not recommend you to send your kid to this school if you want your student to come home and bring back happy news. This school however, does have very high potential, but I don't see this old crippled building making it more than 5 more years without completely breaking. The school is quite literally falling apart and is a pain in the butt to fix everytime that it breaks. The AC goes out at least once or twice a month, and there are cracks, leaks, and bugs of all kinds that just roam the school that children should be dwelling with knowledge in. ENDD
Submitted by student on May 30, 2024

I’m graduating Lanier on the 5th. I would say my experience is mediocre. I learned a lot, but we were taught for the STAAR rather than to learn. Teachers were average. There are good and bad ones. The good ones are really good and the bad ones are really bad. I didn’t have a lot of support when it came to social-emotional situations. My mental health was really bad my time here and all the counselor told me was to get my grades up (I have an A-minus average). Kids are okay. It’s diverse, but discrimination still occurs and is often joked about. The safety is in the gutter. There’s mold everywhere and the building is really old. The engagement is good though. I don’t recommend Lanier. Good academics, but bad school.
Submitted by student on April 09, 2024

I am just finishing up my time at Lanier, as you can say I am int the final stretch and I go to highschool next year and I have a lot to say about my 3 years at this school, the building is absolutely disgusting, its old very old, there is horrible smells coming from anywhere in the school, like someone just died.There is mold everywhere in the school, and constant leaks of some type of liquid in the ceiling, the cafeteria food has bugs in it and the the football field isn't even regulated to have home games on it, poison ivy on the fences outside, the education at this school is questionable, coming from a an actual student, all we did in class was the teachers just getting some type of worksheet of Google and just handing to us, day after day after day. and the school building isn't even big enough to house all the students without being cramped in, it feels like your in a little hut oh and I forgot to add the AC doesn't work in 99% of rooms in the school. The school also doesn't have much freedom at all, the only time you can really go outside is during lunch when you eat which is only for 30 mins, like imagine sitting inside all day, how bad would the be for your mental and physical health. What are some positives you may ask, well if your children are artistic they have some decent programs for that, especially Mr Garret, which was my favorite teacher at my three years at this school. Personally I really wouldn't recommend this school for your children
Submitted by student on December 01, 2023

just no :) to much homework your the reason why people get anxiety and depression like nobody is going to go talk to their teacher about their feelings
Submitted by student on March 23, 2022

In 6th grade, homework is easy and not a burden on the students, but in 7th grade, many of my friends had mental breakdowns over all the math (and other) homework they were getting and how much their grades were dropping. And then there is 8th grade, which is very fun and not very stressful, aside from STAAR testing month. I think the 8th grader's parents are more involved when the three years at the school have passed, and they try to make the Great 8 graduation, dance, and other end-of-year shenanigans very exciting. I have a ton of great experiences with teachers at Lanier, and these great experiences definitely outweigh the bad ones. Some teachers don't know when to stop assigning hours of homework, but they usually make up for it with their wonderful teaching styles and personalities. Other teachers are kind and like to connect with students using a snappy, modern way of humor, much like what most middle schoolers use at this point in their lives.The leadership at Lanier is surprisingly great, and smooth running. There are 8th-grade student leaders (who go through a week of training camp), and of course, the adult administrators, and everything runs smoothly with a few rebellious kids here and there.At Lanier, everyone has their little groups and everyone stays in those groups throughout the year, with a few kids straying away and making new friends throughout the years. Of course, there are a few troublemaking kids, performing harmless but serious acts such as making a toilet seat in one of the bathrooms disappear, or getting friends to shave their head in the bathrooms for attention, but deserving action is taken, and most of the time, these kids are caught due to social media platforms.Kids with learning differences are accepted by the students (as far as I know), and everybody is encouraged to be kind, and say, talk to people that they see are sitting alone at lunch. These kids usually end up finding a group of friends with shared interests and/or shared differences and make friends they will remember for a lifetime.I have not been exposed to bullying at this school, so I do not have much to say about it. I think since over 1.5 of my 3 years at Lanier were during the COVID-19 outbreak, I have limited knowledge of kids being cruel to one another at school.All in all, I will be very sad to graduate from Lanier Middle School this June, but I welcome Kinder HSPVA High School for the Performing and Visual Arts with open arms. <3 R. R.
Submitted by parent on May 06, 2020

Lanier is like a cruise ship. You can pretty much find anything going on there at any time and it is what you make of it. This is good prep for Bellaire or Lamar though Lanier doesn't have as many gun shootings as the high schools. I guess that's a positive these days.
Submitted by parent on August 17, 2019

Prepared both of my daughters extremely well for high school and beyond.
Submitted by student on December 27, 2018

If I had to rate it, I’d rate it a 3.5 out of 10. If I were to come here to learn how to take notes, remember answers on a test, and get good grades and not actually learn the material then it’d be an absolute 10 but I’m more interested in learning. This school and also most of HISD doesn’t understand that there is a LARGE difference in those who are smart and people who score better.
Submitted by other on April 16, 2018

This school is great school and my son and daughter are exciting getting in.
Submitted by student on March 10, 2018

It was ok, but it could have better. I think all the problems in this school is not necessarily the school's fault, but the district's fault. HISD only cares about the student's grades, and not about teaching them the true meaning of learning. Although this may be rated one of the top schools in Texas, it is certainly not the best. From my own experience, I think I have learned more from my run-down, not-as-wealthy school in New Jersey rather than this one. I feel as if this system is highly corrupt, which is why I do not rate it 5 stars.
Submitted by parent on August 27, 2017

Excellent teachers! Algebra (from 7th grade) and other high school credit classes are offered. homework is not excessive. I like the GSG program where eighth graders lead the class every week. Many choices for extra curricular (sports, UIL academics, debate, etc). Overall an excellent school with many activities and classes offered!
Submitted by student on August 22, 2017

Its a great school and it is a good school for people who want a very high studies and there are a lot of AP and Algebra 1 people that and very cool . The best thing about this school is the the 8th graders can become leaders and i am one of them too. I was very nervous at first but you can volonteer to inprove your leadership skills.
Submitted by parent on May 26, 2017

My student loved it. Our zoned school was terrible, and after trying another magnet, which really didn't work for us, she got a seat at Lanier. She had an amazing year and she is looking forward to going to a top magnet high school with many Lanier friends.
Submitted by student on February 03, 2016

It was very bad for me at many times. It emotionally hurt me a lot. It also built me up for many more things in the future.
Submitted by other on December 08, 2015

I am a student at this school and one word to describe it. Horrible. 1. the admin are very slack and ignore you. I stand there waiting for someoneto help me and they are right there making copies and ignoring me. I try to get their attention but they ignore me.2. Some but not all teachers are horrible. So horrible I could OMG them badly. 5 out of 32 teachers I know are actually nice and well… a good teacher. i had a teacher that forced our class to buy flair pens. Those are super expensive for what you get.3. They say that if you walk in the hall without a signature signed planner by the teacher, u get in trouble. I agree with that rule, but if you come from the 1st floor to the 3rd floor for a teacher errand,(remember, no planner) and to send students back all the way back by the admin, that’s crazy.4. GSG. Okay, so GSG is Guidance and Support group. It’s basically like homeroom, but thirty minutes and IB activities. I admit, the games are pretty okay, but forcing kids to not do some homework in GSG? You could fail a grade with missing assignments.5. The school is very judgmental. the students and the students and admin. This is 2015, so I know when I say so. This is first person point of view. The students are racist. they are mean, and are bullies. It’s not like I’m a wimp, but if you ask any student in the school that has been there for at least 5 months to name at least 3 infamous bullies they know, I assure you, they know. The admin and faculty tend to blame children for many things even if the is the student’s fault. It’s like they rub it into kids’ faces. 6. Though this school has many bad things, it has good qualities:- SOME teachers- Good curriculum- very hard, not challenging, but hard——————?- if you have a good taste in friends, you will find the best friend7.I would not recommend this school to any students who are innocent and fragile. I have seen the inside of this school. I have seen good students get influenced BADLY. Even me. I’d say I’m not innocent. I’ve seen and heard way took much to be innocent. You don’t need to read this sentence over again, but I have seen couples making out on stair wells. 8. Please don’t let your child be ruined by this school. If you think your child can be tuff, then let them try, but this is a warning from my opinion and is biased. See what your child can do.
Submitted by other on January 07, 2015

I'm not sure why there's so many bad reviews here. Maybe a new principal got in and fired everyone. Or maybe the negative reviewers confused this place with some place in Iraq or Pershing. Actually, this is definitely the best school in Houston or maybe a close second to St. John's depending on your priorities. No, most teachers aren't uncaring, and the GSG thing is something most other schools should learn from. No, very few people are racist or judge you for being poor (very few people do that anyway) Actually, most people are really supportive and care about you Yes, there are many kids who don't want to be there and are just screwing around but that's true in every public school, and most private schools. Many of the people here are really smart and go on to really selective high schools and colleges And why should the school be shut down? The building has peeling paint, but tons of schools do (some older ones in New England take pride in it) I'm really glad I picked this place instead of T.H. Rogers
Submitted by other on June 05, 2014

Alright, yes, Lanier isn't a PERFECT school,but it is definitely an amazing one (yes, I am a former student at Lanier (and I'm moving on to Bellaire HS)). My teachers throughout the years have been kind and very good at teaching (besides my 6th grade science teacher and 7th grade math teacher (who I think taught elementary school before he taught 7th grade), and the administration is very helpful with any problems you have (schedule issues, bullying (if any), etc.). There are also foreign languages that challenge the students as much as their core classes do, and electives that are very enjoyable. Now, you may be wondering why I gave this school 4 stars when this looks like a 5-star review. Well, to be honest, I feel a little bad for the students at Lanier now because they are doing some changes (for example, merging vanguard and non-vanguard students into the same cluster). It feels a little pointless and that's what made me remove the 5th star. In conclusion, I recommend this school for any student who wants to be challenged in the Vanguard program, or any future middle-schooler who wants to be challenged in general. Go Purple Pups!
Submitted by parent on May 21, 2014

I agree with many of the reviews. Lanier is not for everyone. This is an excellent public school for G/T kids in a large, public school district. No school gets everything right all the time, but if you are evaluating middle schools, I would encourage you to tour Lanier. There is no hard-sell, and I don't think anyone affiliated with the school would encourage you to choose Lanier if it isn't the right choice for your student(s). Our family has been able to appreciate the overwhelming balance of positives at Lanier: diversity, evenly-enforced disciplinary policy, professional leadership, differentiated instruction in an IB framework (this alone has been invaluable), and a wonderful community of students, parents, administrators and teachers. Are there teachers that could improve? Yes. But if you can cite a school that rates an all-star staff by all their students, I would say that you have found Utopia. If your kids are interested in challenging themselves in any number of areas, I think Lanier may be a really terrific option for them.