Bridgewater Middle School

5600 Tiny Road

School District

Orange County Public Schools
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:19
Type

public

School Map for Orange County Public Schools

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 student on March 01, 2024

Overall this school is pretty average. You get an education and nothing special really. The 8th grade core teachers are super nice, the ones I got anyway. The admin's are about average sometimes they favor some who shouldn't be favored over other kids just because of certain reasons. I have never had to deal with them so I can't really speak with experience but this school is just about average. You will get and education and not a whole lot extra. School lunch is free so that is helpful and the kids are generally well behaved. In past years the kids were obnoxious but that has seems to be dying down as time turns. (I am currently in 8th grade)
Submitted by parent on February 28, 2024

Great school! My daughter love it! Amazing teachers,except a few,good kids and interesting lessons. Thank you!
Submitted by parent on October 09, 2023

This school is disgusting. on my daughters first day of school she came home complaining about how bad the bathrooms are and how disgusting and mean the girls are at school honestly she had made some friends so she decided she wanted to stay but to be honest i would not be surprised if this school gets shut down one day because it is disgusting and horrible and my daughter described the the girls bathroom by her band room she saw a literal spider egg on the metal reeling on top of the bathroom stall I am utterly disgusted at my daughter's view of the school i feel stupid for sending her to this school and wished she would let me send her to another one like horizonwest middle because that school has amazing ratings unlike this one but because of her now very close friends I would feel guilty doing so without her consent to I honestly tell you that this school is definitely not a good choice at all.
Submitted by parent on April 21, 2023

the bathrooms are disgusting and in the girl's bathroom, the stales don't close.
Submitted by other on October 15, 2022

It comes as no surprise that there is no reviews from teachers at the school on here. In my capacity working as the Network Manager at the school I can honestly say my personal experience of the establishment is in complete contrast to the other two reviews currently on here. It's very noticeable that there are no reviews from teachers on here or anywhere on the internet that I can see. The way teachers are treated within this school is horrendous in my opinion. During my time at the school several were dismissed for what seemed to me to be questionable decisions or almost simply being disliked by senior staff.I replaced another network manager in the school when I joined and was given no handover as I wasn't allowed to meet them. This seems to be the policy within the school, when someone is let go they are actively refused any contact with anyone else currently working there. I witnessed several times where teaching staff were brought into a meeting to be informed that one of the teaching colleagues had been dismissed and they were not allowed to contact them. This even included outside of the school in their free time; no phone calls, no text messages. This apparently applied to who I replaced also. For reference I was offered a full time job within the school after working there as a contractor, but turned it down due to the way other staff were treated there. I've worked in similar roles with other organisations for the past 30 years and have never experienced such a toxic working environment as that in Bridgewater School.
Submitted by parent on August 11, 2021

I beg you guys to ignore these salty kindergartners. This school is really a great place. I’ve learned so much here and met people I never would have met otherwise. Bullying is overlooked, however, I can’t disagree with that. Otherwise, no drugs, that’s from 2017-2018. If you read the dates, you’ll see that the majority of good comments are from this year or last. A few problems, such as graffiti in the bathrooms, poorly maintained locker rooms, and few others should be fixed. I don’t disagree with that either. But these comments here are literally disgusting. If you’re a parent considering bridgewater for your kid(s), I highly suggest making the clear choice. The only reason I would ever leave a bad review is not the staff, principal, or way the school is run. A few things should be changed, but overall, the students’ behaviors are what make this place unpleasant when it is. Try to hang out with the right people, that’s my only advice. I’ve been going here for two years and starting my third, and I definitely suggest this school as a top-notch choice for a great experience and education overall.
Submitted by parent on October 29, 2019

Very unprofessional. My child is disabled and was kicked out of school for responding to her bully after being ignored by the deans numerous times when she reported the incidents. When she finally took up for herself outside of school the school principle kicked my child out of school and didn’t discipline her bullies whatsoever.
Submitted by parent on August 27, 2019

Based on many reviews that I had read, we were very hesitant sending our son to 6th grade at Bridgewater. Now on our third year here, we are happy to say that it has been a wonderful experience. We now have 2 kids attending and we strongly recommend this school. I feel that this school more than prepares kids for high school and offers plenty of opportunities to take a variety of classes. Teachers and councelors are passionate and the administration has done a fantastic job managing the overcrowding. At the end of last year there were nearly 3000 kids attending, but luckily it’s dropped to under 1800 this year. Whenever you have that many middle school kids in one school, there will be challenges. Bridgewater has done a great job managing though.
Submitted by parent on February 06, 2019

very poor which is why after 8th grade we are moving our child to a private school. I would not recommend Bridgewater.
Submitted by parent on August 02, 2018

Love the teachers and my kids are very happy at the school
Submitted by parent on May 31, 2018

IT was a traumatic experience for my son! one that has caused him to not ever want to attend school again. Countless times picking him up and he is in tears for the way he was treated by peers and teachers! There are way to many kids in that school and every day they are accepting new ones! Its all about the money not the children! If I could give it no stars I would it doesn't deserve any stars!
Submitted by parent on September 16, 2017

Great school with teachers that care to make a difference. One of the best in Florida.
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2017

Excellent school in a great area with a family-friendly environment!
Submitted by parent on May 23, 2017

My son has had a good experience in both 6 th grade (2015-2016) and 7 th grade (2016-2017). Excellent, Caring teachers who ALL take an ownership in my son's success. They ALL show up at his 504 meetings (both 6th and 7th grade). The teachers respond to me as a parent as though they WORK for me- (our previous school district in Md. many teachers treat parents as a problem and are too busy to respond to parents)
Submitted by other on January 31, 2017

No need to restate what has already been said. But I'll summarize. Overcrowding, bullying, horrible language, no supervision. In the way a positive experience for my sixth grader.
Submitted by parent on January 14, 2017

Moved here after reading stellar reviews of Bridgewater- turned out they were old, school was under a different administration at the time. Current administration is terrible, little to no communication, runs the school like a prison. Few extracurricular activities. Most of the teachers are excellent, but turnover is a huge issue. School is severely overcrowded at almost double capacity, 29 portables and another 16 coming next year. Bullying, foul language, theft, graffiti and fighting are all unaddressed issues. Orange County is well aware of all this and refuses to take action. This is not what you would expect to find in this upper middle class neighborhood.
Submitted by parent on August 15, 2016

Overcrowded... the Teachers and Administration just have to many kids. Ten new trailers, oh I mean "education cottages"; added every semester. I did not move here to send my sons to school at a trailer park. The school did not challenge my children, who found it to be quite substandard. Pathetic. Not sure how they keep becoming an "A" school. Feel bad for the students who need to be challenged and the ones who actually need guidance. The bathrooms for the boys have no doors and the walls have obscene drawings all over them. Much less this is where the kids skip classes. It is a glorified daycare center; If we truly cared about our kids education we would not allow this pathetic example of a middle school to exist. The worst part is it is suppose to be one of the best in Orange county. It was no surprise that the surrounding elementary schools and high school(west orange) dropped a letter grade from last year. Good luck Florida transplants and elementary school newbies.
Submitted by other on May 05, 2016

I agree with the reviews that tell you from the principal to the teachers to the staff this school needs district attention. This school has been a sad example as what you would expect from a middle school. They are not concerned about preparing the students for high school. They do not talk respectfully to the students. There is just so much I could go into...bottom line I wish they would replace the whole staff. Get educators that care and know how to treat this very impressionable teenage years. Helps build confidence.Very disappointed in this school. Wish I could move or put my children I. Private school.
Submitted by parent on August 25, 2015

I moved to this district because I was hopeful that my kids would have more opportunity and a better environment. After 2 days, I'm sorry to say I'm not impressed at all. I've never shown up on a first day of school to have the teachers and administrators tell me that every students' schedule is going to be wrong. I don't know what they've been doing all summer, but I've never seen such a discombobulated mess ever on the first day of school. My son's schedule is nothing like he had hoped for; and it seems as though he isn't getting his top choices because he is new to the school. The only thing he cared about was getting into PE. Where do they put him? Art. That makes perfect sense, doesn't it? The guidance counselor has yet to respond to my emails in which I politely covered my concerns. And I have no idea if this is going to be resolved. I've been told it will be at least 2 weeks before they get everything correct. It's the most assanign logic I've yet to hear. If they were so inundated with new students, then they should have brought in more people to help get it organized before school started. I'm incredibly worried that I made a huge mistake bringing my kids here.
Submitted by other on April 27, 2015

First of all, every review I've seen about this school has been absolutely awful. The children at your school are being bullied by there peers and when they are seeking help from there teacher's and counselors instead of the issues being addressed there just getting swept under the rug. This is poor leadership from the educational department. You don't deserve a rating.