Mountain Gap Middle School Review

According to SchoolDigger's 2012 ranking system, Mountain Gap Middle School in Huntsville is rated 17th out of 431 public middle schools in Alabama. The school's mission statement is to provide the students a "…safe, supportive environment and challenging education…".

We don't have the privilege of getting down to the nitty-gritty, but according to 2012 statistics, the pupil teacher ratio is 13.32, with 25 full-time teachers to 356 students. As the state pupil teacher average is 16, it appears reasonable to expect Mountain Gap teachers would have adequate time to devote to individual students.

Dozens of reviews from parents and students were positive and support the school and its teaching staff. For example:

•     "best middle school in Huntsville"
•     "impressive teaching staff"
•     "teachers amazing and care about individual students"
•     "will be prepared for high school because of outstanding things Mountain Gap has done for me"
•     "very good with discipline and have some of highest S.A.T. scores" (in state)

We found a couple of negative reviews from people who don't believe the school lives up to its promise.

In another review, a disgruntled granny didn't mince words to Mountain Gap Middle School teachers who "let my grandson get so far behind…" She was distraught that all school business had to be conducted via e-mail, rather than face-to-face. Mostly though, she appeared angry because the grandson had to move out of state to live with his dad.

Guns at School

Time to revisit this issue:

"Do we really want our educators carrying weapons?" The majority of teachers throughout the country are female. For the year 2011-2012, the Alabama Department of Education reports that 80 percent of the public school teachers (46,074) are women. Nationally, women have a tendency to own fewer guns than their male counterparts. A 2011 Gallup poll revealed that 52 percent of males report having a gun in their household where only 43 percent of women do likewise.

Other questions including how the guns would be provided in who underwrites the training also come into the debate when thinking about arming educators. The situation in Huntsville is typical of what takes place throughout America where local laws, and in many cases, federal laws must be either amended or abolished in order to even consider the idea of teachers carrying weapons.

The Huntsville City School System – A Great Place for Achievement

The Huntsville City School District is a premier district with some of the best magnet programs in Alabama. From preschool to high graduation, our students are encouraged to strive for academic achievement so they can contribute to the community in a meaningful way after graduation. Our school system includes 33 preschool programs, 21 elementary schools, eight middle schools, seven high schools, and five schools serving students from preschool through eighth grade.

Our school district is also home to the Academy for Academics and Art and the Academy for Science and Foreign Language. These magnet schools provide specialized training for many of our students.
There are currently about 23,000 students striving for excellence in the Huntsville City School District. Our experienced, passionate teachers work with these students on a daily basis to ensure every student reaches their full potential. Our administrators are also available to provide direction and guidance to every school in the district.

There are many talented students in our school district who receive specialized training through the following magnet programs:

• Creative and Performing Arts at the Academy for Academics and Arts (P-8)
• Creative and Performing Arts at Lee High School (9-12)
• Engineering at Lee High School (9-12)
• International Education at Johnson High School (9-12)
• Law Academy at Johnson High School (9-12)
• Foreign Language and Science at the Academy for Science and Foreign Language (P-8)
• International Baccalaureate Programs at Columbia High School and the Academy for Science and Foreign Language

Some of our students also participate in these excellent JROTC training programs;

• Air Force JROTC at Huntsville High School and Butler High School
• Army JROTC at Grissom High School, Columbia High School, and Lee High School
• Marine JROTC at J.O. Johnson High School

The Huntsville City School District also offers nighttime training classes for adults interested in securing skills required for local jobs. High school students looking forward to entering the workforce or going to college can also take advantage of the Huntsville Center for Technology.

Our school district is dedicated to helping every student reach their full potential. If you are intrigued by what we have to offer, please visit our contact page or pay your local schools a visit to learn more about what we are doing for our local students.

Phone numbers and email addresses for every department can be found on our Contact page. All email addresses for teachers and administrators will follow this format: firstname.lastname@hsv-k12.org.