Hill Middle School

5200 Ehrlich Road

School District

Hillsborough
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:17
Type

public

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 August 11, 2024

I would not recommend sending your kids to this school or if you’re a teacher, I would avoid working here. The principal has no control over the students here, the fights and bullying have been awful at this school and the students are barely punished for their behavior. That is why they probably appear by the numbers as a decent school, “there are no behavior issues if we don’t punish them”. And they bully students and teachers alike. A student even brought a knife to school and was only suspended for a couple days I was told by my child. And there is a ton of dissatisfaction among the staff. My child won’t be attending this year!
Submitted by parent on July 25, 2024

It was good until new principal webster It changed alot last year alot of fights bullying and the kids who did this never got in trouble alot of teachers left cuz it got worse and worse the principal is not right
Submitted by other on December 19, 2023

This school was fine. Not great, But not bad either in 2021. (my seventh grade year,) Keep in mind that if your child loves it at this school it's most likely because they're not different and can fit in without being watched just for ex; colored hair.It was ok until Ms. Webster showed up and fights began to break out, teachers were quitting, students would rebel against the new rules. etc.The teachers are good and supportive, They want to make sure you get a good education. But I'm not even sure if those really good teachers are even here anymore because of this sudden principal change.Go to Boucannon.Also if you're looking for a highschool by chance, Don't go to Gaither or Chamberlain either.
Submitted by parent on November 11, 2023

My daughter goes here and loves it!She is in the band and never have been threatened or jumped or picked on.The person that left a bad review.Things change maybe it was tough when you went there 20 years ago but things change. Don't be naive.
Submitted by other on January 01, 2023

I would not recommend this school for you children, I use to go to this school and every day I was scared to show up because of the students at that school. At the beginning of the school year, I was fine because I had friends at that school that would actually treat me with respect, and they all showed me the right thing to do and if it was okay or not. But getting closer to the end of the school year everything went downhill I lost all my friends as well as everyone at the school started getting into fights, and then my phone number got leaked to the whole school and I started getting death threats and threats that they will jump me when I got to school the next day. This school will ruin your social life and your everyday life as well. I was put into virtual school with the state, and I haven't been able to set foot into another school since then.
Submitted by parent on August 08, 2019

I chose this school because many recommend it as one of the better middle schools for this area in Tampa. Maybe if your kid doesn't have a learning disability it is an "A" school, but in my opinion it's a "D" school! The Special Ed support is a joke! They have next to no Sp Ed teachers and some of the ones they do have are way past retirement and are just no help! Not sure I'd recommend this school to anyone honestly. But as far as safety, structure, things like that it is better than many area schools. So for the normal kid I guess its acceptable. Any other...look elsewhere!
Submitted by parent on July 12, 2019

We love this school and looking forward to 7th grade. Proud to be a Bear!
Submitted by parent on June 17, 2019

Love it AMAZING and my daughter LOVES it...Here we come 7th grade
Submitted by parent on May 21, 2014

My son has been going to Ben Hill this year. We moved from Nevada to get here and Ben Hill is in our school district. I really hoped someone would try to reach out to him but they probably don't have time. In Nevada they did! He loved school there and here he hates it. I know the budget is low. When a child has problem don't they care to ask questions? Call the parents? He missed some days because of depression. We get this wicked letter saying he missed too many days. Do you ask why he is missing days? No you just punish! Do not send your child to this school there has to be a better way. These people have the privelage to educate our precious children and instead want to show they have power. Go to corporate America where they just care about money. My son was having a problem in one of his classes so they threatened to hold him back. He is too smart for that. So we can't have a problem with a class?
Submitted by parent on April 07, 2014

My daughter went to Ben Hill for all 3 yrs of middle school. I thought overall the school was a goodl. However, the Honors Spanish teacher had absolutely no control of her class. I sat in the back of the class as my daughter gave a presentation in Spanish. Part of the presentation involved bringing my dog to the class which is why I was there. I was shocked at the disrespect & lack of control. My daughter's math teacher in 7th grade was terrible!! She had a heavy French accent talking badly about my daughter. I ended up meeting with administration & after 3-4 months finally had my daughter moved out. Best decision ever, but sadly it took 3-4 months before the administration would listen to me that there was a problem. Finally, the current principle is terrible. I was fed up with the constant threats made to outgoing 8th graders. Rather than deal with the problem students she always threatened to eliminate dances or the end of the year party. Poor mgmt style. I have a child going into 6th grade next year that is incredibly shy &d can't risk the bullying from teachers I witness, so luckily she will be going to Walker.
Submitted by parent on March 03, 2014

This is my daughters first year at Ben Hill. I have been very happy with this school. My older daughter went to Walker. I feel I have a fair comparison of both schools. I have had great responses from the teachers at Ben Hill when I have questions. They encourage the students to excell and have good incentives when they do. Check out the school for yourself and form your own opinion.
Submitted by parent on March 02, 2014

There seems to be a brick wall up between the staff and administration. Parent's seem to always be brushed off at the issues the school has. Students are for the most part lazy and undisciplined. Teachers are not given any help in controlling the classrooms. As a parent I can only hope things improve.
Submitted by other on December 16, 2013

I go this school and its a good school theyve made some changes even since last year and its gotten better. Theres always opportunities to have fun and you get rewarded for doing well in school. The discipline is also great and you can talk to most staff if you need help i honestly feel like youll learn here and have fun at the same time. If your considering coming then but i think that there 'remodeling' is pretty stupid because theyre not doing anything but putting up green fences the school needs its work but its a good schoo
Submitted by parent on July 06, 2013

Ben Hill Middle School has great teachers who really encourage learning, they have great coaches in every sport, and the principal is wonderful. When my older child first attended Ben Hill Middle school back in 2009-11 they had a horrible male assist. principal who I believe did nothing to help with the problems at the school, numerous fights, frequent bullying complaints, horribly behaved students, and poor response from the then male assistant principal. Since he is no longer at the school there has been drastic improvements. The principal is excellent and has a great team of administrators currently working with her. I agree that at one time Ben Hill middle had a bad rep, but the past year has been wonderful. The school has greatly improved, so visit the school and see for yourself. Overall, great academics, great teachers, excellent principal and administrators, tutoring, great coaches, sports, and friendly office. There are a few bad apples in the school, as would be at any school, who like to call other students names or demonstrate bullying behavior, but students need to report these negative experiences to their parents, faculty and administrators. immediately.
Submitted by other on June 23, 2013

Me and my brother go here. I think overall it is an okay school. The school has many fights though .
Submitted by other on June 21, 2013

I am a student at hill middle school all these reviews are very bad. But those are the parents opinions i think hill is an amazing school the teachers are great and yeah they overload us with homework but its for our good and our better future to learn because they want the best of us the sports are great and the school is not bad!! I love Hill middle school!!
Submitted by parent on April 11, 2013

The rating are design for ALL parents, students and teachers to put their opinions for other to see, so others can make their decision base on what they read and information that they gathered. Based on what I read and I can say the parents and student had simply put their true thoughts and opinions based on their experiences. For you as administrator telling all parents and students NOT to leave negative comments to impact the school rating and sweep everything under the rug is very deceitful. You are basically taking people's freedom of speech away. I'm sure you wouldn't have problem with people leaving positive comments, so why only stop people from leaving the negative comments? Please do let parents and student make their own judgement base on the truth! If Hill Middle School is a great school, I'm sure parents will see that themselves.
Submitted by teacher on January 21, 2013

As the principal of Hill Middle School, I welcome any parent concerns and wish that the concerns would be addressed directly before posts are made. The latest post states that "two teachers quit" however this is not actually fact. The two teachers referred to both took leaves, one for health and the other for further schooling. Again, as adults, they have the right to take a leave when necessary, and neither of these individuals left without great hesitation. It was not their choice at the time. I do invite people to the school to visit and our administrative team is available to answer any questions parents may have. This IS a great school, and while the staff are not required or mandated to utilize Edline, as an administrator, I can only encourage the use of this tool for parents. There are many challenges facing educators today, and to have negative remarks posted for the world to view, without further investigating facts prior to posting, adds to the challenges of great educators who are doing everything possible to build a future for our students. Read what you may, but investigate for yourself. Thank you to the 970 families who do enjoy what this school does for their child!
Submitted by parent on January 20, 2013

My son did all three years at this school it is a below average performing school. Regardless of what the district rates the school at, this school does not perform even close to an "A" school. There is no accountability I had to go to the school because of bulling in the boys locker room because there was no teacher monitoring. My son is very smart and has high goals and this school does nothing to challenge him to assist his competitiveness for high school and beyond. The discipline is a joke the kids are wild. We are have way through this school year and two of my sons teachers have quit and both classes are high school credit math and Spanish. I can't wait until June I would seriously look at other options before sending your child to this school. I have two still in elementary and they will never attending this school.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2012

All four of my children have attended this school and it has gone steadily downhill. I finally had enough and pulled my youngest out after one year. The bullying is out of control and the administration and staff do nothing to control it. Administration offers excuses but never solutions. Edline is rarely updated by most teachers. The principal is out of touch with this age group and is not accessible to parents when there is a problem (which is often).