George K. Porter Middle School

This is my son’s first year here at Porter Middle School. We chose the school because of its great curriculum, and the fantastic highly gifted and talented program. PMS is the only one in the area which offers two years of language, and two years of accelerated math, giving students high school credits before they even get to high school. All of the teachers and staff have been fantastic so far. Security on campus is great. There are security officers that roam the school during school hours and even after school. PMS does not feel like a jail either.
It is true that parking during drop off and pick up can be tough. I blame no one but the PARENTS. They are the ones double parking and blocking crosswalks and making illegal U-turn’s putting children’s safety in jeopardy. The parents should be responsible and take some ownership for their actions. I’m teaching my children how to be careful and watch out for the crazy parent drivers.
There are plenty of afterschool activities to keep the kids busy, including sports and serious club. My son has many friends here whose parents think very highly of PMS as well. If you are interested, I highly recommend the school tours offered.

Porter MS in Granada Hills seems to be a great school with high API scores. However, as with any schools, Porter MS has a mixture of good and bad traits. The school has great teachers who strive to educate, engage, and challenge their students, but they also have sub-​par teachers who have stopped making the effort to really teach and engage their students and merely go through the motion of getting through the school year.
Communication between the school administrators and the students home varies. There have been several occasions when there is little notifications given about school events or activities. They do try to update the announcements on the school website, which is where I refer to so that I am aware of upcoming events.
I do have to commend some of the staff at the school for their effort to be more present and available to the students, particularly the Dean of Students, Mr. B. Smith. I often see him out in the field conversing with students, asking them about any problems or concerns they may have. From personal experience, I have Noticed how responsive he is about any concerns brought to his attention, and always follows up.
Parking after school is very limited and gets over crowded. Parents often double-​park, park in red-​zones, or block residential driveways, which is not only a nuisance, but also a safety hazard for the students. The problem only gets resolve when the police or parking enforcements patrol the school, but as soon as they leave, parents regress back to their bad habits.
Overall, I am satisfied with this school’s performance, particularly the gifted SAS Program (School for Advance Studies) and feel safe sending my kids to school here. I have also heard great things about their Magnet School, but can’t speak to it personally.

This school has gone down hill so fast. Teachers don’t care enough anymore, they kick out students that have made trouble then let them back in, there way of resolving a situation is not the greatest — it still leaves a problem, so many parents I run into have said the same thing about there son or daughter who attend they want to remove them. I remember growing up myself wanting my kids to attend because it was a great school. Not anymore
Beware!!!

Love the school, but, the parking is chaotic, parents double park, park in the red, or drive up and block the street and pick up their kid, so they don’t have to park like everyone else. They also don’t let the kids cross at the stop signs. Parking enforcement will NOT happen until a child gets hurt that’s how it goes. Remember school busses? Every other state in America has them! Here only special Ed and gifted kids.

Eh. It was ok. There was strife between the ‘gifted magnet’ kids who were bussed in and the local gifted kids, who weren’t offered the same choices.