Pacific Grove Middle School

835 Forest Avenue

School District

Pacific Grove Unified
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
Type

public

School Map for Pacific Grove 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 July 28, 2024

I recently graduated from Pacific Grove Middle School and while the school was generally pretty good, administrative disorganization, one or two incompetent faculty, poorly planned school events, factually incorrect curriculum, as well as many more issues plagued the school. These issues were not noticeable daily but made some days extremely annoying and generally gave the impression that we were not only wasting the time of the students but the staff's time as well. These issues continued to increase in severity as we approached graduation and I wished only for summer break, not for the absence of classes but to be done with the schools nonsense. Let me start off with what I think to be the most pressing issue, the school administration's incompetency. While I had no issues with any single member of the school administration, many of my friends received obviously unjust punishments or even unwarranted punishments, at least according to them. The schools efforts at discipline were obviously not working, the amount of gum chewing, phone sneaking, stealing and fights only increased with our grade level. The school administration also had little mishaps like scheduling fire drills at times when it was nearly guaranteed to rain (we once had to stand in the rain for nearly 15 minutes straight because of a fire drill). Whenever the school announced an event I was always filled with dread. The small events during school hours were always disorganized but at least they were optional. Unfortunately there were some mandatory after school hours events. Take the graduation as an example, we had to skip multiple classes on multiple days to practice because the event was "very important". The event was just the 8th grade sitting in fold able chairs watching members of the staff and student government make speeches up on a pathetic little stage. This was followed by us slowly walking up and getting our diplomas and then sitting back down. The entire event took over one and half hours and I was more bored then than in any of my classes that year. Unfortunately I am near the character limit so I'll summarize the rest. One of the P.E. teachers is completely incompetent, having us do no training for the fitness tests or our unit sport and then blaming our low effort when even one student performs poorly. The weekly advisory class is a complete waste of time and the curriculum regularly contains misinformation.One of the better middle schools in the area.
Submitted by parent on June 12, 2024

I really hate to say this, but I am disappointed with the rigor in this school. Very little to no homework. From what I hear from my child, teachers spend class time on their cell phones instead of teaching. Students watch movies like Ratatouille and Cinderella and drinking tea instead of learning important information. There is not much reading books, class discussions, writing essays, science projects, or practicing math problems. Math should be practiced on paper with corrections made by teachers, not on the computer by computers. Same with history. I’m worried that my child will not be prepared for the more rigorous high school. It’s too bad because we moved to Pacific Grove for the good schools. I hope the school will improve for future generations.
Submitted by other on January 25, 2024

I’m so sorry if this offends anyone in favor of this school, but I personally thought it was horrible. Teachers barely teached so much as just sitting us in front of a website. They as well as that were less than polite to students, unwilling to acknowledge their own mistakes, and failed to intervene when students mistreated each other right before their face. The amount of homework was beyond unfair and I was constantly horribly mistreated by my fellow students. I will say that their theatre program was amazing but I would overall strongly not recommend this school.
Submitted by parent on December 05, 2023

My daughter grew up in the Pacific Grove school district and I couldn't be happier with her academic progress. This school and its teachers have been very instrumental in my child's education. Great programs, caring teachers and overall great environment.
Submitted by parent on December 11, 2018

I think PGMS is a great school, the majority of teachers and administrators sincerely care about their students. I think PGMS and its small size encourages kids to participate in sports, leadership, and other after-school activities. If a student wants involvement they can easily join a sport or activity.
Submitted by student on January 31, 2017

I would rate my school a 10 out of 10 because they don't give homework that often.
Submitted by student on December 24, 2016

As a student going through the school, I was absolutely dismayed. I was enrolled in the music program, but that seemed to be the only good thing about the school. There is evidence and cases to show that the current grading system is rigged. Grades are automatically renormalized from low to average and average to high. The curriculum provided by the state is corrupt, with confusing, inadequate material. There are some teachers there that make nationalist, sexist, and sometimes racist comments directly or indirectly towards students. The teachers also create an environment where the students do not feel safe, they feel threatened by pressure, humiliation, discrimination, and overall an pathetic and bang-my-head-against-a-wall feeling. Not to mention that the homework load to allotted time period ratio is extremely disproportionate. I had eventually left the school and turned to an alternative education. HIGHLY unrecommended.
Submitted by parent on April 10, 2016

Moved from Monterey (MPUSD) after 10 combined years of both kids to PG. Experience in PG couldn't be any different- in the most amazing, positive ways. Wish we had made the move earlier.
Submitted by parent on May 18, 2015

The administration here is so busy patting themselves on the back, they can't even see how low the standards have fallen. Mrs. Priest and the music program are amazing, but for every great teacher at this school, there are 2 others just biding their time and putting out the same tired worksheets they've been using for years--one teacher even told the parents at Back-to-School night, "Why did I decide to go into teaching so many years ago? 177 work days a year!" Coloring pages that qualify as history "projects" and standards so low that even the kids think the Honor Roll is a joke. The principal (Mr. Roggemann) talks a good game, but is woefully short on substance and not interested in any kind of substantive change-- a perfect example of a big fish in a very small pond. Such a disappointment--can't wait to get my kid out of there.
Submitted by parent on May 05, 2015

Don't be so taken by the high ratings of this school, their grading system is rigged. A student with several B's, a D, and an F can get an A+ at 100%. How does that happen? And if a student scores lower than a B, they will provide a make-up test right before the semester grade closes out. All efforts are made to make the grades look good. The learning - less so. The material is very simple and there are almost no tests. All grades are based on classwork, homework and participation. And if you don't score so well on some of those, they turn a blind eye. So, if you are after a challenging education for your child, this is not the school. If you are after day care, this is your place. But don't be so surprised when your child can't keep afloat in high school.
Submitted by other on September 15, 2014

This is school is one of the best schools i have ever been to and the teachers are just wonderful and the education is good and there are many friendly people and the view is great and there is no drug and racism problem
Submitted by parent on March 23, 2014

Very disappointed. No foreign language, no honors or accelerated classes, even for kids who are clearly ready to do more challenging work. The entire GATE program consists fof a variety of "lunch clubs" that any kid can drop in or out of at will. My child has virtually 100% in every class with minimal effort. When over 75% of the school makes "Honor Roll", this is not a reflection of how amazing all the teachers are (although there are some really wonderful teachers at this school), but more a reflection of the low academic expectations. This ridiculous "one size fits all" approach does a real disservice to the many bright, talented kids who are pushing to do more. These kid are NOT ready for AP and Honors high school classes after 3 years at PGMS and many end up really struggling in their 9th grade year, when teachers expect higher level work of them. This school is capable of so much more and I just don't understand why the administration seems content to be just barely average.
Submitted by parent on September 17, 2013

I looked everywhere for more information regarding this school before we moved here and could find only a few scant reviews. This school has some very good teachers and some nice kids, but overall, the level of academics is very low. They lump all the kids together, saying that they don't have honors or GT classes because "90% would be in honors class", but that simply isn't true, and isn't backed up by the test scores. If your child is a below average-average student then I suppose this would work, but there is absolutely nothing available for the child who is gifted or working above grade level in any way. It was a real disappointment to see my child doing re-doing work that she has previously mastered in past years. The social environment is pretty rough as well, with lots of verbal bullying and roughhousing. The principal says he takes bullying seriously, but I very rarely see him, or anyone else from the administration, out by the school before classes or after, when a lot of the bad behavior occurs. Lunchtime is a free-for-all. I know the budget is always an issue, but I've seen schools do much more with less. Overall, this school is strictly average, nothing more.
Submitted by parent on May 05, 2013

My son attended PGMS or 2 years. I was very pleased with the teachers and office staff. The principal is first rate!
Submitted by parent on October 08, 2012

This school is wonderful!! I have been homeschooling my child for three years because everywhere I have put her in school the children have been very mean and absolutely wicked. We enrolled her for eighth grade and she LOVES it. My daughter can't wait to get back to school on Monday because she has so many friends. Every weekend she has something to do with her friends. She says there are some kids that do drugs and get pretty bad grades but there are only a few. These kids tend to be the more popular kids and my daughter stays away from then anyway so they don't bother her. The teachers are wonderful and if you have trouble understanding the lesson taught Pacific Grove Middle has lunch clubs for homework, math, music, and other clubs such as Glee club. The music department is absolutely amazing!!! My daughter is in advanced orchestra first chair cellist. She loves the instruments and the teacher. The sports there are great as well. My child just tried out for the school musical The Music Man and got a great part and all her friends are in the musical too. Over all, this school is a wonderful place just as long as you choose the right friends and you stay focused in class.
Submitted by parent on September 22, 2010

PGMS is a very good academic school. Do not rely on the previuos reviews, LOOK at the test scores. This year's API is 905. Near the top for the entire STATE ! My son attends & is excelling. The Band program is unsurpassed, he's played trumpet since 5th grade . (Did you know that over 90% of band students go on to college.) It does not have a good athletic program, our YMCA is strong for that. It is very small town America. As for the 1 review that said drug use was an issue...AGAIN, check w/ the local police, you will be pleasantly impressed with PG's extrordinarily low crime in general...you will RARELY see drug related activity in this middle school. This is the place to raise your child in a safe environment....let me just add that my son is a minority (black/hispanic) and we have no problems.
Submitted by parent on July 27, 2009

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Submitted by student on August 10, 2007

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