Manhattan Beach Middle School

1501 North Redondo Avenue

School District

Manhattan Beach Unified
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:25
Type

public

School Map for Manhattan Beach 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 parent on November 12, 2024

Just finishing our daughter's third year here at Manhattan Beach Middle School (8th Grade). Overall our child is thriving in each grade level. Overall the quality of instruction has been great in most classes. Super strong math, science and history programs. Overall as a family we very happy with MBMS for a normal kid who likes learning.The Yearbook, TV and Music programs are also all award winning, our daughter did the Yearbook program which was a ton of hard work but very rewarding for her. Other family friends are heavy into music (band, choir and orchestra) all which sound amazing when we hear them.There are a few special needs children at the school, who seem to be getting lots of attention. The school just had a principal change with Mr. Olesiuk coming in and he communicates well with all the parents.
Submitted by parent on October 26, 2022

Our daughter is currently attending Manhattan Beach Middle School after attending all grades at Grand View Elementary School here in Manhattan Beach. She currently enjoying all of her teachers who are challenging here. Class sizes are small, all under 25 and she is being challenged especially in her Advanced Math. Everything is tracked through Google Classroom which may be a challenge to non-technology savy parents; but creates great IT skills for the students.The PTA does an incredible job of involving the community and raises huge amounts of money to further support programs in school and after school. The school has almost great facilities and sports programs/teams as well. Insane amount of Clubs students can join that meet during lunch breaks are good.Given the level of affluence in the community most households make education a top priority. This lifts all children as motivation is contagious. Our child is currently excelling here.Highly recommend!
Submitted by student on November 08, 2019

Bad food is terrible some teachers are nice
Submitted by parent on May 31, 2017

MBMS is a wonderful school with amazing teachers, academic excellence and extra curricular programs. MBMS prepared both my sons for success in high school both intellectually and emotionally. There is something for everyone including a world class music program, Surf PE class, chess club, etc. I don't agree with the poor reviews on this web site. MBMS is a large public school but its programs far exceed what is available at elite private schools. As a parent you need to stay involved with your child's education and stay on top of their courses and educational tract. I highly recommend MBMS.
Submitted by parent on March 21, 2016

Don’t let the high tests scores fool you. There are a lot of frazzled kids and families who are putting in a lot of outside-school effort to help generate those high test scores. Many (if not most) of these families have the educational background and other means necessary to help their kids, and I think this has allowed the school to get more credit than it deserves and also to avoid taking a look at the real impact of things like the huge school size and iPad program. Some good teachers; a lot of very average ones. Little teacher accountability and poor leadership. Very average school attended by a motivated set of students who are bound to test well even with sub-par teaching.
Submitted by other on January 21, 2016

MBMS is dismal. The classes are monotonous. It's a shame that the principal of MBMS won an award for being a good principal but MBMS is still so bad.
Submitted by other on October 30, 2015

I attended MBMS for my 6th and 7th grade years. Some of the classes there have a very slow pace and are boring. MBMS is not suited for gifted education, and the needs of gifted children are neglected. While there are some good aspects of the school, like the music program and extracurricular activities, the boring and monotonous classes outweigh the positives. There are some good teachers at MBMS, but some give too many detentions for no reason.
Submitted by parent on March 11, 2015

This school has no respect for what America was founded on. I have two kids that went here. My children felt disrespected and frankly felt like they were in a school in Iran, not America. It is your typical agenda-ed liberal hype school that crams new age weird concepts down the kids throats and teachers are mediocre at best. I have no idea where the good reviews are even coming from. Kids are not allowed to share an opinion at this school, it is controlling and bitter and abusive on a regular basis. Only liberal agenda is 'preached' here by staff . they are anything but 'progressive'.
Submitted by parent on January 25, 2015

Big which may be hard for some but quality is wonderful. If your child is organized and a self starter they will thrive here.
Submitted by other on August 07, 2014

I went to mbms for two years and I loved it. The principal was awesome, I learned a lot in class, and I'm excited to start my eighth grade year there. There is a lot of homework, but it helps you learn and makes the tests easier. The only class I didn't like was French, because the teacher makes you review and review easy concepts that you already know well. That class is very slow and the teacher spends most of the class time on things you have already learned. Some people might like it, but it's not for me. Mbms also has an amazing music department. I am in band and choir, and both classes have experienced teachers that really care about they're students and want to help them learn. The iPads are easy to use and have enhanced my learning experience, making classes more interesting and my backpack lighter. I love mbms and have had a great experience in sixth and seventh grade.
Submitted by parent on April 13, 2014

This school is completely overrated. Teachers are non responsive, especially when you are actually trying to help your child -- I guess they aren't accustomed to parents actually participation in their child's education. Education is sub-par. The iPads are a joke -- some classes use online textbooks, others don't. If you're going to integrate, integrate across the board. Frankly, my child is a straight A student and finds textbooks on the iPad to be difficult learning tools.
Submitted by other on July 21, 2013

honestly this school wasn't all too great. mainly because everyone was so snobby and the standards were a bit too high. i did learn a lot, though. i wish this school had lockers because carrying around my heavy backpack wasnt very fun. i also didnt care for the ipads. it actually made school harder and more stressful. i had to drop a class because all the homework we had was just too much. overall, i did not care for this school. you have to be skinny and you have to wear brand name clothes to fit in. even then, everyone judges you.