H J Macdonald Middle

3127 Elizabeth Avenue

School District

Craven County
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:17
Type

public

School Map for Craven 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 October 15, 2024

Best thing I ever did was take my child out of that zoo. They wouldn't let me put zero stars or I would have
Submitted by student on January 18, 2023

It’s a great school, I don’t know why everybody is disagreeing, I’m in the council, and as a student I see what’s going on around me. Everything is great, maybe the safety isn’t, there aren’t much teachers around that notice the fighting going on in the bathrooms and hallways. A lot of these kids think they own the school and deserve to be disciplined. The special Ed teachers are super nice to their students and give them very nice treatment.
Submitted by parent on June 08, 2019

Glad to be done with this place....
Submitted by parent on June 06, 2019

Great program. I can see a lot of positive changes
Submitted by parent on May 05, 2019

I loathe this school with every fiber of my being. The teachers and one of the counselors was absolutely wonderful but the administration there is lacking in so many areas. When I was approved to home school my son and I told him that he would not have to go back there he physically crumbled into my arms and started crying repeating "Thank you, Mom, you have NO idea how horrible it is there". No child should ever be fearful to go to school or have to worry about becoming victimized daily. I attempted several times to get the school to figure something out and help my child but they continuously showed me that my child was in no way a priority for them; when speaking to me regarding a situation of "horse play" (that my son was not a willing participant in which actually makes it assault) the assistant principal couldn't even make the concerted effort to say the correct name. Nice to know that my child was so unimportant to the school that they couldn't even get his first name right. I am grateful that my son had the experience though because he now knows exactly who he does NOT want to become in life; I only wish I had known how truly horrible it was for him there because I would have pulled him out long before I did.
Submitted by parent on April 10, 2018

Horrible. We just withdrew him. Thank god.
Submitted by parent on February 15, 2018

Program in this school is on the right track. In a short span, they are able to uplift the performance in all areas.
Submitted by other on November 19, 2016

Over all terrible Admin not knowledgable. Downgraded from before.
Submitted by parent on April 30, 2015

While waiting in the car pool line to be picked up after school, my son witnessed his friend being provoked without cause by another kid. A crowd of kids encouraged a fight and the provoker proceeded to punch my son's friend in the eye and neck while he tried to protect his head. The assistant principal arrived too late to do anything about the beating since the carpool line is so chaotic and mismanaged. If this happens under the "watchful eyes" of teachers, then there is no way I would let my son ride the bus. This is not the first instance of physical violence at H. J. MacDonald that my son has told me about. It seems to happen one to two times a month and is directed at white students. The bully has been in trouble for fighting in the past. I can only assume that there are other violent teens who continue to roam the campus and threaten the safety of our children since H. J. MacDonald was unable to control this one repeat offender. This isn't Chicago, where my spouse faced such violence and discrimination and left as a result; yet our family is now faced with the same problems in New Bern, NC. Unbelievable. We wanted better for our children.