Springhouse Middle School

I made a lot of memories while I was stuck here (Years 20117-18, 18-19, currently in the 19-20 school year). I appreciate all that the staff have done and the valuable lessons I have learned. Thank you SMS!

According to my Sms teacher friend the Principal has her group of favorites and cannot make her own disciplinary or executive decisions without consulting the district admin. It’s either lack of confidence or brown-nosing. You would think after 10 years of leading a building the principal would be able to be decisive and not have to be mentored anymore unless she’s banking on a district admin position. Let’s just hope she takes her doctorate that the taxpayers paid for elsewhere.

Principal does not deal with bullying issues. She says she investigates but nothing changes. Emails are not returned for days. Our son felt alienated and unprotected. She cares about the cheerleaders and it may be heresay but the cheerleading coach is a relative of hers. I find it also ironic that the female assistant principal is in the principal's her inner social circle. And I thought they didn't practice nepotism at Parkland. I also would like to know why some clubs get total financing to national events but others don't. Maybe the principal is relatives with (or who would even think) sleeping with someone at the ad center or business office

The principal doesn't know what's going on. She doesn't keep track of teachers updating grades or websites. There supposedly is an anti-bullying campaign, but my daughters were bullied their entire three years. Another disappointment is students aren't prepared for the high school math, due to grade inflation. Lack of consistency and communication are the principal's biggest faults. I only wish we had bought the first house we saw in OMS.

Stay away from this school. They may tout high test scores but it turns a blind eye to bullying. The principal doesn't deal with the issues and emails aren't returned promptly. The common excuse is it must have gone to my junk email. The Department of Education reports that 25 percent of American students say they were bullied at least once a day and my daughter is an example of this at Springhouse. The principal says they are disciplining bullies. Yet, this is ineffective because it creates a hostile environment. You can ask my daughter if you need proof.My child had to endure bullying and suffered from low self-esteem and her ability to learn and be successful at school diminished. Beware if you go here,, you must educate your child about bullying behaviors; because the principal does nothing. Whatever happened to the old principal, this never happened when he was here...

Tragedy struck our school and we received great support from the crisis team. The problem is, the staff letter we received didn't come from the acting principal. Why did principal Minotti take time from her sabbatical to write the email? Does she want to be a hero? When is it okay for someone to come in and work when they want to be a hero and still get paid for their leave of absence? Why didn't the school board consider the acting principal Holmes or Evans for the principal's position when they were going through the interview process? The acting principal Evans worked as a teacher with us at Springhouse, was a dean of students and knows us well and is more than capable of filling this position. The other perk is Evans never taken a leave of absence for anything and is professional, committed and impartial. The wrong person was chosen for this job. We are a vessel in need of a new captain. I'm jumping overboard to another school or district.

As a taxpayer I am appalled to think a district as prestigious and budget conscientious as Parkland would allow this to happen. How can someone effectively lead a school if they are gone on 2 half year sabbaticals and 3 leaves of absences. What a waste of taxpayers money!

Initially I used this site to help me look for a school. That's when we met the best principal our children ever had, Mr. Troutman. Needless to say we were quite upset when he went to OMS but agree with the previous posting, he was able to keep SMS afloat and micromanaged it, which I am thankful for. I'm glad to hear Mr. Holmes will be principal again and Mr. Bartman as well. I don't think too many parents would be upset if this set-up was kept indefinitely. The positive aspect of this is they are both are parents of older students in the district and they don't take a lot of time off. They're always available and return phone calls promptly. In my humble opinion, SMS was better managed with a male principal and according to our kids, they behave better in the presence of a male administrator.

My son had a great experience with Mr. Holmes at the reigns this year. A strong male influence is what SMS needed again. Likewise, we met Mr. Bartman one time, and our son only has had positive things to say about him as well. After the ordeal our daughter went through while principal Minotti was there and the bullying by the cheerleaders we had contemplated moving to OMS. In our two of our three children's careers at SMS, the principal has been on 3 child rearing leaves and now two semesters of sabbaticals. There is a lot to be desired in the administration. Typically, the administration was not available after school hours and if you telephoned the school after the students were dismissed, it was the same.We were relieved to learn that Mr. Troutman was still in control of SMS when he went to OMS. Everyone knows he ran the show and micromanaged the school from OMS which gave parents solace in a period of uncertainty.

I have to agree with the previous submissions. There is a lack of continuity in discipline due to the inconsistency by administration. This is a result of extended sabatticals and family leave of absences. I tried calling one time to speak to the principal before she left about the length of school programs and the call was never returned. We have grandchildren in both middle schools and we have seen growth in discipline issues including facebook, harassment, bullying at SMS.

SMS went downhill when the administration changed from Mr. Troutman. It will never be the same.