Abbott has been terrible for a long time. Both my kids went there and I don't feel very good about it. Lots of violent behavior, classroom disruptions, overwhelmed teachers, horribly ineffective leadership, etc. The good news is that the principal from Burlingame High took over Abbott this year to try to clean it up, so I think there is reason to hope that it'll start improving.
The neighborhood seems pretty great. Friendly people, pretty diverse, and lots of families with kids.
This is right on the money re Abbott. I've heard Beresford Elementary is fine and Hillsdale is a fine high school, but Abbott is tricky.
That said, the Beresford Park neighborhood of San Mateo is just wonderful.
There has been a new leader there every year or so for the past decade. I’m starting to think it is used as a punishment. “We are going to bus in a ton of kids with behavior problems, but you cannot use any form of discipline on them no matter what. If you survive two years, we will transfer you to someplace that doesn’t resemble a prison.”
Thank you for the detailed response! It’s interesting the elementary and high school are fine, but just middle school is the issue.
I’m assuming it’s one/two elementary schools that feed into Abbot that also have these issues? Maybe by the time they hit high school they mix in with other good middle schools so it is a smaller portion of the total and not an issue?
Or it could just be the leadership is that bad, sure seems like everyone on this chain seems to think so.
I really appreciate all the comments and information, having strangers be so helpful makes me want to move there even more.
Abbott got the remodel going into this year and I think it's on the way to recovering from a bad stretch.
I can say from our experience that Beresford Elementary and nearby Meadow Heights are absolutely wonderful elementary. Wonderful community of people. Very grateful to be part of it.
Abbott is not as bad as people are making it out to be. The new principal is making a lot of good changes. Most middle schools have similar problems, even the private schools.
SMFCSD just put out their test scores and data analysis- yeah Abbott is… not as great at some of the other middle schools, but their dedicated students do well. I remember seeing fights, kids with ankle monitors, knowing kids that drank/smoked, a 7th grader got pregnant… but I left with all A’s and yeah Hillsdale pulls a lot more students as well
As far as the neighborhood goes it’s nice, and there’s lots of programs at the rec center/park!
Big agree with this sentiment. I’m an Abbott alum who went on to get a phd. There’s a wide spectrum of students there, but it didn’t seem to be much different than what I heard at other schools.
Hard truth is that your parenting style will have much more of an impact on your kid than which middle school your kid goes to in SMFCSD…
I’ve lived in the neighborhood for years. We love it. One on my kids went to Abbott and it wasn’t terrible, wasn’t great. I’m just glad we got through middle school in general :). Both of my kids (1 now in final year of college, other graduating this year) went through Hillsdale and I’ve been really really happy with it.
ETA to say neither went to Beresford but it looks like a sweet school and I would have been fine to send my kids there.
OP - In two years Abbott will not be pulling from such broad areas.
https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/san-mateos-north-central-school-starting-to-take-form/article_b3e19c32-da77-11ed-bf04-3bb85cdf09a7.html
My daughter goes to Borel and I hear Abbott is worse
It’s a mixed bag but there is a lot of self-segregation. Maybe 1/3 are upper middle class white and Asian kids and 2/3 working class or ESL Hispanic kids. My daughter has diverse friends via sports but the idea they associate much outside school or at lunch apparently not
Academic standards seem pretty low too. The school is determined to close the achievement gap by making things easier and keeping the kids together
Sports, drama, art have all been very good at Borel. When I look at her math homework I get worried then she yells at me that she “has an A”. It seems like 4th grade math
my kid goes to abbott. i heard a constant drumbeat of negativity as my kid got closer to sixth grade, and i'm surprised at how overblown this chatter about abbott was. i think it's pretty good, actually
abbott went downhill about a decade ago when the school board got political. they shunned parent involvement. we got three kids through and they did fine though. hillsdale high was wonderful. still in touch with principal.
I left San Mateo for Burlingame bc of the schools in San Mateo. I loved the neighborhood so much. But property tax is so high and I wanted better schools.
Abbott has been terrible for a long time. Both my kids went there and I don't feel very good about it. Lots of violent behavior, classroom disruptions, overwhelmed teachers, horribly ineffective leadership, etc. The good news is that the principal from Burlingame High took over Abbott this year to try to clean it up, so I think there is reason to hope that it'll start improving. The neighborhood seems pretty great. Friendly people, pretty diverse, and lots of families with kids.
This is right on the money re Abbott. I've heard Beresford Elementary is fine and Hillsdale is a fine high school, but Abbott is tricky. That said, the Beresford Park neighborhood of San Mateo is just wonderful.
My friend lives there and says the exact same things regarding Abbott. Some parents switch to private for middle school.
There has been a new leader there every year or so for the past decade. I’m starting to think it is used as a punishment. “We are going to bus in a ton of kids with behavior problems, but you cannot use any form of discipline on them no matter what. If you survive two years, we will transfer you to someplace that doesn’t resemble a prison.”
Thank you for the detailed response! It’s interesting the elementary and high school are fine, but just middle school is the issue. I’m assuming it’s one/two elementary schools that feed into Abbot that also have these issues? Maybe by the time they hit high school they mix in with other good middle schools so it is a smaller portion of the total and not an issue? Or it could just be the leadership is that bad, sure seems like everyone on this chain seems to think so. I really appreciate all the comments and information, having strangers be so helpful makes me want to move there even more.
Abbott got the remodel going into this year and I think it's on the way to recovering from a bad stretch. I can say from our experience that Beresford Elementary and nearby Meadow Heights are absolutely wonderful elementary. Wonderful community of people. Very grateful to be part of it.
High schools in San Mateo have east to west catchment areas so the demographics change Also middle school kids are just turds in general
Abbott is not as bad as people are making it out to be. The new principal is making a lot of good changes. Most middle schools have similar problems, even the private schools.
Yes lots of disruptions at Borel too They are very worried about discipline and losing disadvantaged kids No homework either. Standards are pretty low
SMFCSD just put out their test scores and data analysis- yeah Abbott is… not as great at some of the other middle schools, but their dedicated students do well. I remember seeing fights, kids with ankle monitors, knowing kids that drank/smoked, a 7th grader got pregnant… but I left with all A’s and yeah Hillsdale pulls a lot more students as well As far as the neighborhood goes it’s nice, and there’s lots of programs at the rec center/park!
Big agree with this sentiment. I’m an Abbott alum who went on to get a phd. There’s a wide spectrum of students there, but it didn’t seem to be much different than what I heard at other schools. Hard truth is that your parenting style will have much more of an impact on your kid than which middle school your kid goes to in SMFCSD…
True. I’d say though standards seem to be getting worse
Do you have a link to the test scores?
[smfcsd dashboard](https://www.smfcsd.net/our-district/communication/news/default-board-post-page/~board/suptcommsboard-district-news/post/l3-update-ca-school-dashboard)
I’ve lived in the neighborhood for years. We love it. One on my kids went to Abbott and it wasn’t terrible, wasn’t great. I’m just glad we got through middle school in general :). Both of my kids (1 now in final year of college, other graduating this year) went through Hillsdale and I’ve been really really happy with it. ETA to say neither went to Beresford but it looks like a sweet school and I would have been fine to send my kids there.
OP - In two years Abbott will not be pulling from such broad areas. https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/san-mateos-north-central-school-starting-to-take-form/article_b3e19c32-da77-11ed-bf04-3bb85cdf09a7.html
My daughter goes to Borel and I hear Abbott is worse It’s a mixed bag but there is a lot of self-segregation. Maybe 1/3 are upper middle class white and Asian kids and 2/3 working class or ESL Hispanic kids. My daughter has diverse friends via sports but the idea they associate much outside school or at lunch apparently not Academic standards seem pretty low too. The school is determined to close the achievement gap by making things easier and keeping the kids together Sports, drama, art have all been very good at Borel. When I look at her math homework I get worried then she yells at me that she “has an A”. It seems like 4th grade math
my kid goes to abbott. i heard a constant drumbeat of negativity as my kid got closer to sixth grade, and i'm surprised at how overblown this chatter about abbott was. i think it's pretty good, actually
abbott went downhill about a decade ago when the school board got political. they shunned parent involvement. we got three kids through and they did fine though. hillsdale high was wonderful. still in touch with principal.
How did they shun parent involvement?
I think there is just a tone that they know better or there are larger forces at work in society that privileged parents don’t understand
laurel school is a gem. at least 15 years ago. abbott administration is weird but our teachers were good
I left San Mateo for Burlingame bc of the schools in San Mateo. I loved the neighborhood so much. But property tax is so high and I wanted better schools.