Venado Middle School

4 Deerfield Avenue

School District

Irvine Unified
Grade

7-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:21
Type

public

School Map for Irvine Unified 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 other on June 06, 2023

I highly recommend this school. My experience with this school is very encouraging. Team Venado from leaders, teachers, counsellors, staff as well as security officers work together and partner closely with parents keeping the students’ best interest in mind. They keep an open mind in dealing with any situation and deal in detail in addressing your child’s needs. Happy to have found Venado.
Submitted by student on May 18, 2023

Learning: I found school here mostly enjoyable. Nothing much to complain about, except the occasional boring science class. No class was really good, but definitely not bad.Special Education: Venado really only has five special education students, but two of them I encounter every day. They're both bullied and picked on and pushed around constantly, and the staff and "security" doesn't do anything about it. They put them in normal classes with mean kids, and as they're special ed, they're very susceptible to bullying and teasing, and they don't know how to ignore those kids either. It's awful how much they're picked on and, as previously stated, the staff does absolutely nothing. If you have a special education student, do not send them here.Teaching: The teachers at this school are kind and caring, apart from one teacher and the occasional awful substitute.Safety: The kids here are INTOLERABLE. They can't mind their own business, they aren't respectful, they harass, bully, and pick on people for attention, they're inappropriate, sometimes racist, and one or two kids got expelled and one or two kids were in a fight and got jumped. There was even a school shooting threat once. Another time, I submitted a report to their pointless "Say Something" service about a student about to kill himself, and they did not do anything whatsoever.Social-emotional support: The counselors here are nice and they often hold events encouraging mental health. Recently, the school opened a "wellspace" encouraging mental health.Family Engagement: They don't really engage families in activities, but honestly, I don't really care about this one.
Submitted by student on October 07, 2019

My experience at this school was great. the lunch was nice, and if you were late, you would get no consequences at all. they were kind and helped me succeed. so far so good!
Submitted by parent on April 03, 2017

Some teachers are very bad at updating students' grades on parent site.
Submitted by other on September 09, 2015

Venado is the best Middle School in Irvine...hands down. From the moment you walk through the front doors, you feel like your child matters. The front office staff are so friendly, helpful and welcoming. The amazing teachers at Venado are so well educated and only want to give the best education for the kids. They are compassionate, knowledgeable and well trained, but most of all, THEY CARE AND LOVE WHAT THEY DO and it shows!!!! They are lead by the most inspiring, caring and accomplished Principal I have ever had the privilege of meeting. Consider yourself lucky if your child is able to attend Venado...#1 in my book!
Submitted by other on August 08, 2012

I am a teacher AND the parent of students who attended Venado MS prior to attending Irvine HS. I have always been grateful to Venado's staff for preparing my own children so superbly for high school. They learned the discipline AND the work habits AND the knowledge necessary to make all their school years successful and gratifying to them. I could not have asked for anything more. G-d Bless Venado's fine, conscientious administration and staff for making their school a role model from which all other middle schools could learn!
Submitted by other on August 08, 2012

I am a former student who can attest to the first-rate quality, incredible dedication and sincere passion of Venado's teachers. They really stand out above the rest (not just among other middle school teachers but high school too) for going above and beyond. One of their strongest features is setting high expectations for students which in turn elevates both our beliefs about what we can do and our actual achievement. While I was a student many years ago, I still fondly remember many stand-out teachers who made learning come alive, esp. the many who developed creative, interactive programs with real-world applicability that generated such excitement and engagement. Venado is truly one of the best middle schools.
Submitted by parent on July 09, 2012

This is by far the best middle school in Irvine. The principal and vice principal work very hard and create a positive school climate full of well-behaved, mostly hard-working kids. I am glad they keep the expectations high and the ne'er-do-wells out. Most of the teachers are seasoned and experienced - with some bright, new ones coming in - and the departments all work well together to create a balanced curriculum. They receive honors every year for their music, chorus, and theater programs. The science department is outstanding, with this being home to the district Teaher of the Year. If you can get your kid into Venado, by all means do it!
Submitted by other on June 21, 2012

Venado is an excellent school, although one of the general education humanities teachers gives way too much homework and I've heard her classes are really monotonous and boring. In woodshop you have to be careful because he favors some students and hates some of them, and he has a short temper. So DON'T put your child in woodshop unless they have really good time management skills. Otherwise, the new p.e. teacher, the gate, and science teachers (7th grade) are amazing. To the parent who submitted a post about the gate program being too much stress, it's only because most of the class procrastinates. A LOT. And that's coming from my own experience as a 7th grader at venado. Your child will need to learn how to manage their time wisely for middle school, dividing the work in projects into chunks.
Submitted by parent on March 23, 2012

We heard mixed comments about the school before the school started, so we prayed a lot and hoped for the best. On the 1st day of school, I was actually a bit anxious, but then I saw the principal firmly and kindly (with sincere smile) correcting some kids' behaviors.. ( 2 kids were standing on the flower bed after the principal had announced not to; 2 girls wearing shorts that were a bit too short..) Another day after school, I saw a kid tried to take a short cut climbing over a fence, the principal paced over and advised him not to using the same firm and kind attitude. He really showed his care for students. He is the kind of principal that I would like my kid to have. Starting from the 1st day, my kid has been loving to go to school everyday. He likes all his teachers and enjoys being with his friends. From our observation, his friends are all nice, fun and hard-working kids, and the teachers are devoted to their jobs and to the kids. I heard the dress code is bit more strict compared to other schools, and that's another thing we like about the school. Generally, we love the school and it has been a great experience for my kid.