Kraemer Middle School

645 North Angelina Drive

School District

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified
Grade

7-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:29
Type

public

School Map for Placentia-Yorba Linda 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 10, 2023

I am a 7th grader going to 8th grade next year in the G.A.T.E. program who attends Kraemer Middle School. Kraemer is overall a great school. There are three levels of classes your student can take. They are college prep (average), honors (above average), and G.A.T.E. (accelerated). Students are given two elective options. I am in the Spanish program and Choir program as of this year. The Spanish program is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. The teacher's teaching methods are amazing and truly effective. We learn by watching Señor Wooly videos and doing skits. You may be skeptical of this teaching method, but I am one of her top students and can proudly say I would have never been able to learn so much Spanish from learning from a textbook. The Spanish program is two years long and you must take it both years (Spanish 1A and 1B). So, when your student takes this course, they will not be required to take Spanish 1 and will be bumped to Spanish 2 in their freshman year. The choir program - it is a bridge class, meaning that your student will have to walk to and from Valencia High School, where the classroom is located. I personally dislike the teacher's music taste as she always picks out the songs we must sing. There are 5 concerts each year. They may also have opportunities audition for a solo or small group performance in the show with their friends or in the choir song with the entire class. However, the teacher does unfortunately play favorites when it comes to students and it is quite obvious the way she does this. To summarize, though, this class is fairly good, especially if your child is a gifted singer like me. Keep in mind that your child will have to sing EVERY SINGLE DAY. Before the concerts, there are after school rehearsals and the teacher may pull them out of their classes to rehearse in the auditorium. I will say that unfortunately the underprivileged students (sadly mostly Hispanic) are not interested in learning but this is NOT THE TEACHERS' FAULT! It is tiring to have teachers blamed for "not teaching well" when it is the uninterested students who are given so many opportunities to learn that don't take advantage of what they have and simply don't care. If your child is in GATE, most students are very civilized and respectful. Sadly the same cannot be said for the Honors and college prep kids. All in all, Kraemer is honestly a great school. Your student's experience will vary in class, though, based on their classmates. All the electives are fun.
Submitted by parent on January 05, 2020

Kraemer leadership strongly emphasizes student involvement in their broad array of activities and clubs. This leads to engaged students that care about their school and each other.
Submitted by student on May 04, 2016

Hello everybody I am an 8th Grade Gate Student at Kraemer Middle School. Generally I love almost everything about this school!!! It can provide a challenging and enriching education full of group participation and student involvement and immersion. The elective choices at Kraemer are superb- there are robotics classes and video-production classes for the tech savvy, as well as an outstanding leadership program, AVID, and a TPRS (comprehensible imput) Spanish class. Kraemer also has 4 language classes- Spanish, Chinese, French, and Japanese. Their arts program is also amazing, from their elite level Orchestra, undefeated Dance Team, award winning band and colorguard. Kraemer has a lot of academic and sports clubs after-school that can provide more options to improve your education. For example, I take part in the Science Olympiad program, and I represented Kraemer at the Caltech CA state finals in April 2016 (We got 2nd overall). There are many other after-school clubs as well, such as MathCounts (also succesful), Coding Club, Spelling Bee, and much more!!! Finally, I really like the teachers at Kraemer, particularly the GATE teachers. Some of the best teachers at Kraemer (These are not the only great teachers there are a lot more) include Mrs. Collins (Social Studies), Mrs. Smith (Ms. LaBare, Language Arts), Mrs. Filipescu (our well-known TPRS Spanish teacher), Mrs. Samson (Leadership and Activities Director), Mrs. Fierro (Social Studies and AVID), and Mr. Christiansen (Science and Video Productions). As for the people who say that Kraemer does not care about traffic, I have something to say: Although Kraemer is in an awkward situation, with Valencia High School next to it on one side and houses and the park on the other side, you can tell that they care about traffic when you see the principal nearly every day at the drop of/pick up zone conducting traffic. The principal goes out of his way to improve traffic at Kraemer. If the principal cannot make it another staff member (teacher) takes his place. There is no way to improve the traffic situation, so you just have to deal with it. One solution is to arrive earlier to pick up your kids. There is truly something for everyone at Kraemer and it is very easy for you to fit in!!! Kraemer is an exceptional school, with excellent teachers and staff, and I am glad to be here everyday for school.
Submitted by student on September 24, 2015

I'm an 8th grade honors student at Kraemer middle School. Kraemer has a lot of great clubs and programs like G.A.T.E. The only downside to Kraemer is that there happen to be a lot of trouble makers, but overall there are plenty of G.A.T.E and honors students who make up for that. The school has many programs and after school clubs like Science Olympiad,M.E.S.A,Robotics, and a lot more(majority of the clubs are academic). This goes to the parent who said that they "think" that the school doesn't care about the traffic. They do but they can't really make any more lanes unless they destroy the nearby homes which would cost a lot of money. You just need to be patient or figure out a better time to go drop off your child. The line normally takes 3-7 minutes depending when you go, but when it is a rainy day you should go slightly early.Kraemer Middle School is separated by 3 different class levels mainstream(now called college prep classes this school year), Honors, and G.A.T.E. being one of Kraemer's proudest programs. Keep in mind if you want to get into honors and you're a top student in the mainstream classes just ask the teacher or counselor and you may get the chance to change classes. Kraemer has P.R.I.D.E which occurs only Tuesday-Friday which is why Monday is a longer day. P.R.I.D.E is 30 minutes long and was made so that students could have time do something academic such as homework or maybe try and shoot bottle rockets. Kraemer creates a lot of possibilities for your child to make an improvement and a great advancement in his/her education. I highly suggest you go and see the G.A.T.E classes and take a tour with Mr. Carmona
Submitted by parent on September 16, 2015

only two days at school..... well, dont like it so far. I agree with one of the parents mentioned that the teachers are not really teaching GATE kids... also, the traffic is terrible.. I think the school needs to do something.... but, I asked all the previous parents.. I think the school is not really care about the traffic...
Submitted by teacher on January 26, 2015

This school serves a diverse demographic from At-Risk students to GATE. The teachers are very concerned about meeting every child's needs. They work very hard to look at the whole child. The staff is academic focused but also provides a nationally recognized activity program which engages students through the arts and sciences. Students at this school are prepared for high school through a Bridge Program that connects students to Valencia High School's IB program that develops some of the top scholars in the county.
Submitted by parent on November 03, 2014

My son is in GATE program..... All the teachers are not really teaching but, they all mentioned since the kids are in GATE they supposed to be good..... what ??????? Do we really need a school like this.....
Submitted by other on November 02, 2013

I got to Kraemer and i am in the GATE program, newspaper, and band. I love this school!
Submitted by parent on August 22, 2013

Kraemer Middle school is excellent school. there is GATE - Gift And Talent Education program. My son study in Kraemer Middle school, when he take middle school class, he also take high school class since Valencia high school is next door of Kraemer middle school. he walk to high school, Therefore, my son have more time to take a lot of AP, IB class during high school time. He is Val Tech student. Now he is in UC San Diego, Computer Science. his first year of college is already reach third year class in his college. Kraemer middle school and Valencia High school's teacher are very great!!! I am so appreciate their work. Valencia High School always win top 3 Academic Decathlon in Orange County and top 15 in State, Kraemer Middle and Valencia High are excellence and top schools!!!
Submitted by other on January 24, 2013

its not fair what they did to mr.D they forced him to leave kraemer middle school just because he always stood up for the students we want him back
Submitted by parent on August 13, 2012

My daughter just finished her eighth grade year at KMS. I am so glad that I chose for her to attend this school even though I could have sent her to another in the district. She really enjoyed all the activities that the school has to offer including the Jazz Band. She did not qualify for GATE but she did work in the Honor's classes and feels she is ready for going to Valencia HS where she was accepted into the IB Program. I saw that her teachers care about her and really helped her learn a ton. I am sure she will do well on her standardized test because her teachers taught her classes in a very engaging manner. She especially liked her Honor's Language Arts classes even though they were very demanding. She looked forward to that class everyday and her teacher would even come on weekends to support her in her dance team performances. I would strongly recommend this school to anyone who has a choice. Kraemer has improved tremendously in the past ten years and is the best middle school option for PYLUSD parents and their children-- they really teach the WHOLE child!
Submitted by other on November 24, 2010

I love this school. it's one of the best schools I ever been too. The staff are great they are cool and goof around with the us and are very understanding.The teachers are amazing.