Giannini (A.P.) Middle School

3151 Ortega Street

School District

San Francisco Unified
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:25
Type

public

School Map for San Francisco 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 May 05, 2024

I was a student and it was the absolute worst experience I’ve had. Conditions in this school were poor and I only saw one old janitor cleaning from 11-6. Bathrooms were also in terrible conditions, especially the gender neutral bathrooms; which included inappropriate writing, unplaced items, and urine everywhere. There are some teachers in this school that either liked you or did not care about you at all. For example, when you make a specific teacher mad, they say, “shut up” and yell to the whole class, setting up a bad example for students. Talking to the counselor about, it was not helping at all other than just talk to the teacher about it, which did not change anything. When parents reach out to the counselor about a problem through email, they don’t even reply. This displays a horrible work ethic. Additionally, when trying to change classes, you have to TELL the teacher why you aren’t “suited” for that class. So when telling your reasons the counselor, it’s useless because they won’t do anything if you are not comfortable in a situation. The counselor will continue to ask irrelevant questions in your switch and it’s truly disturbing. Speaking on teachers, there are some teachers that grade you based on how you behave in class. The way you behave affects your letter grade which is truly despicable. Some Students are also not well-behaved and therefore, disturb the whole class ambiance. They slack and go to the bathroom just to skip class and either play with their phone in the restroom or vape. I’ve encountered multiple scenarios and needless to say it’s “weird”. When looking at the brighter side, this school has a great sport reputation and range of electives but other than that, there are barely any students that participate in clubs. School is underfunded because people are barely involved due to the teachings of this school. Too many kids are in this school and kids barely learn.
Submitted by other on April 05, 2024

There are great teachers that encourage learning, an amazing orchestra program, and lots of students go to respectable high schools. Many disabled student make friends here, and it provides a pretty safe environment. The counseling office provides reasonable and reassuring words (and tea if you come in with a sore throat), and as an alumni, I have made many lasting friendships. I have also noticed a positive change in my physical physique. APG has been an experience of many firsts, and I would recommend this school. The only problem, which is prominent in most schools, is that there are some troublemakers who are not properly disciplined.
Submitted by parent on February 08, 2024

APG is a feeder school for many elementary schools in the West side of the town; therefore, it's the largest middle school in the city, which has positive and negative aspects. Positives, due to its large student population, APG is able to provide a wide variety of electives and after school activities, including some of the most competitive junior league sports teams in the city. Negatives, as with many schools on the West side, there is very little academic and social-emotional support from the teachers and staff, and students (and parents) are left on their own. As a result, if/when challenges and problems arise, the school staff, especially the Principal and the counselors, are ill-equipped to deal with it. Therefore, your child's experience will depend solely on the teacher(s) they have. Unfortunately, our son had a horrible 6th grade Math/Science/homeroom teacher, who screamed and belittled her students, and it was a traumatic experience for him. The worst part of it was when we brought up the issue with the school staff, we received little to no support from them. Although he had better (kinder) teachers in 7th and 8th, given that 6th grade is an impressionable year for many students, the negative experience stay with him - with us throughout the years.
Submitted by student on June 24, 2023

I went to the school for 3 years and it was terrible. The students were out of control and reckless. The Bathrooms were in horrible conditions with urine on the floor and dirty toilet seats. There were a lots of aggressive students and the educators were unmotivated and rude at times. This school had no engaging activities, fun subjects or people to talk to. I did not see the students with disabilities treated badly but they weren't treated well either. There were racial slurs, discrimination, anti-semetic comments/drawing and sexual harassment. I wouldn't go to this school again. They had no fun subjects, no engaging activities, no visuals and no enjoyment. This school is unhygenic I saw on a daily basis several students didn't wash there hands properly or at all. The bathrooms smelled disgusting and were practically unuseable and the amount of students were not good either. If I were a parent I would not register my child for this school. Please look for other options.
Submitted by parent on January 18, 2023

A.P. Giannini faculty need major training in the laws of special education. Their response is to suspend students rather than work with them and they don’t fully realize their obligation to the law and their students with special needs. They don’t give homework because they figure their special needs students are stupid and incapable of learning. They don’t care about their students. The paras work harder than anyone there amd make the least amount of money.
Submitted by parent on May 31, 2017

My 4th child to attend Giannini. 4 different principals thru the 10 yrs so far. Many teachers have come and gone. Most are very dedicated to the well being of the children they teach. Overall, this is definitely one of the best middle schools in the SFUSD.
Submitted by parent on December 08, 2015

Excellent school for my child. They have a great transition infrastructure for incoming 6th graders that really helped my son integrate into middle school life. He is flourishing. Bonus is shared access to grassy fields at rec center next door and on campus courtyard garden with vegetables and chickens.
Submitted by other on December 19, 2014

Im in the 7th grade and am loving it. All these reviews on how its a bad school thats really easy are completely untrue. I admit sixth grade was pretty easy but once you get to seventh grade classes are harder, more is expected, and teachers challenge you. I have an amazing history teacher that really gets me interested. The electives are amazing, and our plays and concerts are really fun to watch. We also have a student council, science fairs, activity days where you get to pick an activity you want to do like ice skating, going to see a movie, going to the mall, the giants game, and etc and you get to do it for the whole day. Our electives are band, orchestra, art, drama, film, guitar, creative writing and choir but in the sixth grade you can either pick band, orchestra, or art rotation which is a program where every twelve weeks you switch between choir, art, and drama so that you get to sample each one of those and pick what you want in the seventh grade.
Submitted by other on June 11, 2014

This is a great school. I had fun for all three years I spent at APG. There is no bullying at all; and if there is, it gets reported and something gets done about it. I felt welcome there and everybody was nice. I had some great teachers at APG. I learned a lot and the teachers were able to keep my attention. I had good grades for all 3 years. If you go to APG, you won't regret it.
Submitted by other on April 08, 2013

I absolutely loved this school. I'm about to graduate from APG and I'm so sad that i have to leave! I met so many people there and i became close friends with them. The teachers are so nice! They take their time to help you and other students, along with making sure you have a good education. At A.P.G we didn't get to go to Washington D.C. but there's so many more other activities that A.P.G. provides. The electives are really good too! I was in Orchestra, and yes, i did go through a few teachers, but it was really fun being there. There are some cons, but there are also pros. Not everything can be judged by other peoples perspective. The best way to actually get the scoop and know what actually happens is to go there yourself and see how it is! (: