Arlington Middle

I was a student at this school back in 2006. Here's the short version. If your kid is shy or soft or they have a good heart, don't send them here.

Anyway, I was a student back here 15 years or so ago (2006). The bullying was very bad at this point in time. Can't say how it is now, but I can at least talk about my experience, and give some people some much needed negativity in a sea of positive yet probably fake, or lazy, reviews. I think it helps people make a more informed decision. Anyway, brace yourselves.

I hated every day I spent in this school. I was beaten in the hallways, in the locker rooms and called all sorts of colorful names. I was told to kill myself by some of the students multiple times. On the bus to and from school there was a sadistic group of kids that liked to hold me down and bend my fingers back farther than they were supposed to go, and then reset them. Over. And over. And over again. For over half a year.

I constantly went to the admissions and principle for help, but they must have had something better to do than help out a child that was quickly becoming jaded to the world. Hopefully it has changed since then, but that school is the school where I almost ended my life. Thankfully, I had a family who cared about me and the two or three friends that were there when I needed them most. So I didn't do it. There were times where I thought of hurting those that hurt me. Ever wonder how those things start? But due to my nature, I never could totally imagine actually doing such a thing. Instead I endured, and hardened my heart.

Eventually I did have to make an example of the kids that hurt me and a few others very badly. I didn't really want to, and in fact the school should have been there to stop all the beatings before, but in the end I had to defend myself. And eventually, after gathering the courage I did. Sent one of them to go to the nurses office after I had shattered his nose and bruised his ribs. Think about that. A kid, who wouldn't hurt a fly, jaded so much in one year by an experience like this that he would willingly break someones nose to make sure that not just one battle was won, but all the battles after that.

That's good right though? That I defended myself? Sure, but I still have PTSD and OCD from it. Things that affect us when we are children, stick. Don't let your kid go through what I had to go through. Just play it safe and send them somewhere else.

In my experience there were mountains of homework, and I could never keep up with it. My mother had to help me through a lot of it because there was just way too much for my little mind at the time to work through.

As for learning differences, some of the admissions officers, and one teacher in particular, thought I was slow. That teacher unfairly made me do more work than others got, because she liked to pick favorites. Hilariously this made me one of the top writers of the next school I would escape to. But that doesn't make it worth it.

At least nowadays I've been able to mentally say "up yours" to all those who doubted me, as I am now onto my third degree, with ever having graduated high-school. So I survived. But still, don't send your school here if you still hear terrible things about it, and just to be safe, if your kid is kind-hearted, just think twice before sending them here, and make sure, that if you do, that they're okay. I never told my family what I went through until just three years ago. I endured everyday by myself. It was my fault, yes, but when I was younger the OCD created the irrational fear that if I were to ever tell anyone, that it would just get worse. If you suspect it, get them out of there.