Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School MLK

Tania O. _{on Yelp}

Sep 6th, 2019

My daughter goes to MLK and I'm glad to be taking her out of this school in a few months! She and some classmates witnessed a teacher..YES! A TEACHER!! Tell a young student that could not speak fluent English.."what is wrong with you, you live in America and don't speak English" umm excuse me!?!? Who the hell does she think she is? Unfortunately my daughter did not know that teachers name or else I'd be going to the OUSD to report them for discrimination! This is a serious legal issue and I WILL find out her name. People like that should not be "teaching" our children.

Cindy F. _{on Yelp}

Dec 7th, 2018

Updated Review (not sure if the oldone will remain once I've posted this one - but when you realize there's something wrong with the place you'd thought so highly of, it's probably a good thing to warn others so they don't see your first review. We made it out, but it's definitely been a stark reminder of not taking everything you see at face value):I probably should have waited until the Honeymoon Phase had worn off before posting my first review of my impressions regarding the school. I wanted to be optimistic, and I had been so exited for my son to have a positive year that I jumped the gun when it came to being completely objective in my first review...The school definitely falls between "good" and "needs improvement." By Middle School, it would be nice to see all children FULLY included with adequate and comprehensive supports, as we are seeing in other states with magnificent success. These states are seeing this benefit both disabled and non disabled students alike, as they are going to be learning to exist in a world that does not segregate individuals according to what they can or (usually based solely upon observations from outside sources) what they cannot do. Maybe those students need adaptiveMaterial. OUSD would doing itself a huge favor by learning how to implement these adaptations in real time...bringing in inclusion specialists, and seeing just how much progress can be made...if we are willing to put in the work and investment to help these kids succeed.What once were 5 stars have become 3 ...I'm being  extremely generous, but only because I got him out fast, and though they gave us a very hard time with moving educational records and working with the new school, thankfully, the elementary school he just left had no hesitation in providing everything the new school needed that they were able to provide (yet another testament to how great Ivey Ranch Elementary School is... if only it fed into a middle school that was equally as fantastic), and so far, Ivey Ranch hasproven very helpful in getting us information in a very fast manner so he can succeed. Still love Ivey Ranch - they would be doing a public service to head over and let King know how it's done...FINAL NOTE:***I pulled my son out of King immediately and without hesitation less than a month after he began school there (he started August 22 and I did not send him back after the first week in September). It's now winter break for us, and I  don't regret my decision at all. My neighbors are in their early twenties, and both attended King: apparently not much has changed with regard to bullying...which my own child experienced in spades...kids trying to make him give them his snack money (he was in special education at the time)... it was not okay...and I wondered - where was staff!?! My son was a very young, small 6th grader. He was being manipulated by kids twice his size...and had I not told him the dangers of other kids and how they may try to take your things without asking, etc, I don't think he would have been able to understand what they were doing. He may have given up his money. He came home daily talking of cursing students, struggling to navigate a big, loud campus...it was a recipe for disaster.Had I not moved him when I found out the extent of what was going on, including some treatment by one particular instructor (ironically, his general education teachers were all fantastic and supportive...another reason to question the separation of special education students in a world where we don't have separate spaces for those with different needs...), he may have suffered many of the same things his older brother (who also ended up stuck in Oceanside Unified's special education department until they ushered him out of school completely...they basically passed him over until they waived enough requirements to usher him quietly onto the graduation stage - unprepared and ill equipped to navigate the world beyond high school). I'm relieved he got out when he did, but it was only because I knew how the district fails in special education after the elementary school years particularly. Thank goodness for charters. His new school had been s night and day difference: he's learning Mandarin now; and he's got all the support he could possibly need. I only wish I'd had this opportunity with my older son, and perhaps have been able to save my younger son the trauma of his initial middle school experience.