Presidio Middle School

My son has one year left at Presidio so I’m apprehensive about writing this review. At the risk of retribution, I will candidly write my thoughts for parents of prospective students.
Starting with first impressions, phoning the school for anything was culture shock! At Argonne, the secretary had known me and pretty much every parent. At Presidio, I felt whoever answered my calls was always abrupt and eager to pass me on to someone else without really listening. They have a folder system where information is supposed to get to parents. That system often fails and I’m sure I’ve missed out on important information. Luckily there’s School Loop.
Transitioning was hard for my son as I’m sure it is for many middle schoolers. In 6^th, there were a couple of times he did not tell the truth about assignments but his language arts/​history teacher handled it well. He was not lenient but he was understanding in that students can make mistakes. This teacher, let’s call him Mr. R, made himself available at every step of the way. As time went on, I began to feel like my son, and family, was not just a number. This is a great thing about Presidio – doubling up subjects so students can have less teachers, helps new students feel less like strangers. A big thanks to Mr. R for caring not only about academics, but also honesty and second chances.
More recently (7^th), my son had trouble with math which was surprising to me. He got through the year because we communicated with his math teacher. This teacher had a different style – not a bad style, but a different style. I noticed that my son would come home with worksheets and never used his math book. This teacher was teaching with more of a college style where the homework wasn’t really collected and checked. It was a teaching moment when we sat our son down and explained that he had to take personal responsibility to prepare before tests. It was a costly lesson because my son ended the year with all A’s except that one C in math. He will be going to a private summer tutoring program where I have no doubt he’ll regain his edge. But back to this teacher: in spite of the low grade, I believe he is excellent in expecting students to take charge of their own learning. Let’s call him Mr. H; he provided us extra material to work with at home and the meetings we had were not just talk – real strategies came out them! After that we began to use the textbook as a home reference. I’ll add that this teacher has a strange sense of humor that my son thoroughly enjoys. I’m on the fence about that but what matters is his teaching. He is strict and obviously expects students to give their full attention – I like that.
Again in 7^th, my son has reinforced his love for science. He had always been interested in the subject but kids change their minds. Today, he is more certain than ever about going into this field (and continuing with music). Let’s call the science teacher Ms. T. First, I would email her often and felt dissed when she didn’t respond after a couple of days. I also was disappointed when I couldn’t get a parent/​teacher conference unless my son was doing poorly. Finally, I got to meet her and all pre-​conceived notions about her went away. I came to realize just how many students she is dealing with. After sharing information about my son and how he learns it was evident she was actually interested, I could not hope for a better science teacher for my son. She’s a no nonsense teacher and is very strict about deadlines. But because my son was challenged to work hard, bcs he was made to keep deadlines and he still loves science more than ever, this is one of our favorite teachers!
The music teacher brings intense thoughts pro and con. In 6^th, I wanted to meet her right away bcs band is an important to my son. The meeting did not go well and I walked out of there in tears from her treatment. My son was also upset. It was heart breaking when he asked me to pull him out of the school. I tried to get him out of band thinking that he couldn’t possibly continue with such a temperamental person. There really wasn’t a choice. I had another meeting with the counselor, the band teacher, and my son. I felt the counselor was NOT impartial, interrupting me when he felt things were irrelevant but I felt they were important. However, the better person turned out to be the band teacher. She profusely apologized and admitted she had handled our first meeting very badly. I walked out hopeful (a bit miffed at the counselor, but hopeful). It had seemed to me that this teacher had my son pegged as troublesome. Again, the root of the problem, as with other teachers, was not knowing my son. All future interactions were genuinely warm and productive. I was sad to see her go at the end of this year and hope she returns. To new parents: no school is perfect. Adjust to the red tape, give teachers a chance, and make yourself known in a firm but pleasant manner. You know your child best!

I read another review on here about Mr. Burke’s passing, I remember him very well… my first gym teacher was Ms. Adami, on the first day of gym, Mr. Burke explained his accomplishments. We got to see his humorous side in all the plays… Wizard of Oz — The Wizard, Alladin — Leading Guard and Alice in Wonderland — The Rabbit!
I had him for 8^th grade, I have to say the kids we got away with murder, but he was really cool
RIP Mr. Burke

I had three spectacular years here.
Presidio is:
Not as underfunded as the other public schools.
Higher achieving than the other public schools.
MANY POINTS for the enormous solar panel, no matter how ugly it may be.
Great teachers teach here. I loved math and science with Ms. Mitchell (most hilarious black woman ever), and algebra with Mrs. Casserly. Ms. Ho and Ms. Webb were the two teachers students dreaded having the most, meaning they KNOW HOW TO TEACH.
I will never forget my outdoor ed trip to Olympic Park in Washington in 8^th grade. We were skipping stones at a lake when we were asked to come up with a team name: Skipping Stones. No. PMS Stoners. YES!
I loved middle school. It was fun while it lasted.
PANTHERS ’03!

I don’t see enough people here talking about Mr. Burke. One time this kid kicked a soccer ball as far as he could across the yard. First you could see Mr. Burke just standing there, having a good time talking to himself like «yeh yeh, turn in the balls, yeh yeh». My friends and I followed the path of the ball and we realized — something wonderful was going to happen. As destiny would have it, the ball drove itself into Mr. Burke’s chest and he exploded in surprise, his arms flailing about, screaming, «BLLEEAAAHHHH!!!»
I think he retired and then passed away. RIP Mr. Burke, Olympian and television star.
Would have given 5 stars but LOL SOLAR PANEL IN THE UPPER YARD

In terms of cuisine, big ups to the Taco Pocket and Otis Spunkmeyer cookie.

frankly… in retrospect, i don’t remember anything from the three years i spent here.
but i turned out to be quite normal… or so i think. 5 STARS!

This is a great school. I am know in my 8^th grade year and I still love the school. Even though I did expect more from the school, I wouldn’t go anywere else. The people are great, the teachers are great, and overall the schoool is great. It does have some creapy rooms and hallways. Oh and the bathrooms are discusting. But over all its a great school

oh PMS… i miss you now… i used to hate you with your haunted hallways, mean security guard guy, and cheap lockers, and the seagulls omfg… but seriously, some of the best teachers I had were here. The best science teacher I ever had Mr Gortny, I learned more from him that any other science teacher! Ms. Ho and Ms. Webb are a dynamic duo! They are fun and will make you learn! They have a lot of rules, but you will thank them later, great teachers!!! (does anyone else remember parliamentary seating?)
In general, great teachers, can’t say it enough. Made some of my closest friends today at this school. Hey Olga P. remember our notebook that made us loathe eachother and coming late to homeroom on purpose? ah yes, the good ol’ days…

I only realized how much I loved this place after I started going to Mission High. I’ve honestly not learned a thing about math since Mr. Sedrakian.

Just graduated from there… it’s a very good school, i mean, it’s a very good school! go there, and your kids will be one of the smartest around!

good times. excellent faculty and staff. like helen said, your kids will most definitely come out as tough, smart and educated individuals. and what’s life without street smarts?
minus one star for ms baker’s hairy arm pitts: P i kid… it really should be for the seagulls.

middle school has to be one my least favorite times in the process of growing up.
i mean think about it.
your skin isn’t good, you’re growing into your body, you idolize gwen stefani, dye your hair blue, get your period, and have no clue about brown lipstick NOT looking good…
that being said.
I SWEAR the boiler room is haunted.
Presidio is very old and scary but not as scary as the red brick middle school on Arguello… the name escapes me.
Some of my favorite things about Presidio are the sweatpants with one leg bunched up, the seagulls, the beginning of shaving my legs… pause… NOT…, and the unforgettable Ms. Garnot. possibly the closest thing to Trenchbull I have ever experienced.
But really, send your kids here, they will grow up to be tough, smart, and educated individuals.

Blech, Presidio. Blech to the stupid gym teachers who thought you were retarded if you’re not good at sports but brilliant in the classroom (Confessional: I was an overachieving nerd). Blech to the teachers who looked the other way when some kids bullied others.
I completely hated that school. It was a means to an end.
Can you not tell that I’m bitter?