Arts Impact (Aims) Middle School in Columbus, Ohio

“I attend this fantastic school. I love it here. Its my first year here. Only thing i don't like is the dress code. I think it would be better if we could where jeans. Other than that, its wonderful!”
This review was posted by a student.

“my first year at arts impact middle school was very interesting.this year i am in the 7th grade and alot has changed.i have noticed that mr.owens has been doing alot to change and control the school since dr.edwards has been been in labor but i respect him very much.i also think that our lunch periods such.we need to have longer lunch periods becausethat is the time to socialize and not to work on homework during most of our lunch time.i also like the teachers this year because they are more supportive.”
This review was posted by a student.

“I attened my first year at AIMS and it was fantastic. I loved the cirriculum that was taught at AIMS. I now attend 7th grade at AIMS and its even better than last year. The teachers are better and if i need help in any subject the teachers are always there to help. The downfall on the school was the 15 minutes of lunch studing takes up my whole lunch period, the summer projects are ridiculous why should we have to do work on are summer break, including winter and spring breaks. But overall the school is excellent and i will be attending next year for 8th. Thanks to Ms. Arner (6th grade science teacher) and so far Ms. Clark for challenging me in thinking critically. AIMS rocks!!!”
This review was posted by a student.

“My son has completed his first year at Arts Impact and my husband, son and myself love the school. It would be very helpful for the teachers to keep the online web site up to date. Thank you Mrs. Roth and Mrs. Crook for doing so. The school does need more parent involvement.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“I have had very mixed feelings about this school in the 3 years my son has attended. My son is a visual artist, and has had success in the art classes. Some of his teachers have been fantastic, including the Gifted/Talented resource teacher and the 8th grade team. If you want communication with the teachers you have to initiate it, and you have to be persistently in their faces (or in their email!) to get responses from most of the teachers. The biggest problem I've seen is the change in administration at the beginning of the 07-08 school year. It is nearly impossible to get an audience with the principal. Most of her comm. with the parents is about dress code. There is no school-wide calendar so events often overlap. She hasn't attended the anti-bullying workshops brought in by the PTA. This is not the school it once was.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“My daughter wanted to attend this middle school because she is really into the arts. The one downfall about the lottery is that there is no selection process to weed out the ones who really don't want to attend this school and will benefit from it. There is absolutely NO parent/teacher communication. Teachers don't call the parents. They do not keep their website updated on with homework assignments, grades or contact informatio. Teacher have favorites and focus on those and turn their negative attention to the others. There is not enought diversity among the students who attend this school. I do agree with the attempt to provide a dress code. But wished they just simplify it by picking colors for the tops and bottoms.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“i really like my school. First, i was attending Dominion Middle, and if you are considering to get your child into Dominion, please rethink. the teachers were wonderful, but the kids, not so much. at AIMS though, not only are the teachers amazing, so are the students. the classes we take are just as good. if you like the arts, have fun. we are loaded! overall, i Love AIMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
This review was posted by a student.

“AIMS is the best school ever! The reason that I am attending AIMS is because I wanted to go to Fort Hayes High School. The middle school is right on the campus and all of the middle and high school students seem to be nice. I am a 6th grader there and love it. All of my teachers are fantastic! I was an eclipse class student last year and the year before. I learned allot in that and I am learning soooooo much more this year. The teachers are fun and I am a 4.0 student. I recommend AIMS for anyone who loves the arts (3D, 2D, Orchestra, Band, Percussion, and Dance). The only bad thing about it is the small bullying problems. Overall, AIMS is a one of a kind school that I think is the Best!!”
This review was posted by a student.

“I was so excited and proud when my daughter lotteried into this school. She has always been a bright, artistically inclined young lady, and on the surface A.I.M.S. sparkles pretty well--but there is definitely something going on with students bullying other students AND teachers. The past two years that she has gone to this school have been pretty rough...it looks like we are going to have to transfer her b/c of the bullying going on when teachers aren't looking. It is unfortunate that a school at which there is so much opportunity for young people to succeed and excell both artistically and academically must contend with small-time thugs, racial tensions, and major bullying. My daughter's grades have dropped dangerously low and she continues to be surreptiously bullied and ostrasized day in and day out. I would strongly caution parents to weigh these issues before sending their child here.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“My daughter just started AIMS this year, and she is doing great! I have met and talked to all of her teachers, and they were very friendly and helpful concerning helping students with the hard transition from grade school to middle school. AIMS has a great incentive for students, called a Panther Gold Card, and I am proud to say that my daughter aquired this after her first month of school. She did have the dreaded summer homework packet, but she successfully completed it, and it proved to be a tremendous bonding opportunity for the both of us. All in all, a great school!”
This review was posted by a parent.

“Where to begin???? We heard so many great thing's about A.I.M.S; we did the lottery to get our daughter in and now we wish we had let her to go her regular school. There is no parent/ teacher realtionships..it is now e-mail-ships. Dress code...hummm how about the teachers have to wear a uniform as well, that seems fair...Gene Harris is going for everyone be the same, so it should go for teachers as well. Lunch time should be for eating not homework, nor should it be all about silence. I had a teacher phone me at work because my daughter giggled at lunch time. Summer break....let's look at that closely....summer and break. I know what word stands out break...summer homework...summer is family time not school time. The teachers should do summer homework as well. Overall I give AIMS 0 out of 5 stars.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“AIMS was recommended to us as THE middle school to enroll our son with Asperger's Syndrome into. So, we did. While I'm sure there are some children who indisputably benefited from the program there - the benefit to our son was definitely disputable. The biggest problems seem to be an over-protectiveness of their authority on the part of the resource teachers, and an insufficient understanding of the nature and effect of this disorder on behavior and learning. This led to many poor decisions about discipline, skills teaching and therapies for my son. There is no way that I know of to force them to undergo additional training. But, I wish there was. My advice if you send your kid to AIMS: figure out what your kid needs, write your own IEP, and force them to comply by whatever means necessary.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“My daughter is a 7th grader at A.I.M.S and I thought this school would be a great thing for her, I was wrong. she was an honor roll student all through elementary school and has not had anything close to that her 2 years here. a few of her teachers need to re-evaluate their job, I dont think they should(or want to) be teachers. I am not sending her back next year. it is sad that a chance like this turned out this way. hopefully they can get better leadership and teacher quality soon.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“My oldest son graduated from AIMS last year and through my experience with AIMS it was good. Now my youngest son attends and it appears that the teachers do not want parents coming into the classroom that challenge them but instead they want to deal with parents that will go along with whatever is going on. I feel that some of the teachers have favorites and will not engage the other students, I also feel that some teachers are disrespectful towards the children but they expect our children to respect them. My mission is the success of my son however it does not appear that the teachers have the same mission. I feel that some of the teachers try intimidating the incoming 6th graders, who are already experiencing anxiety due to change and many other things. Teresa, parent”
This review was posted by a parent.

“Focus seems to be on attendance not education. I am not getting the full picture, you email a teacher they never reply back. Can't call during school because I'm at work & they are in class. My child has NO time between classes to even use the bathroom. Communication is spotty at best. Just not what I was expecting from a school that was to be strong on the arts and education. Education doesn't seem to be the emphasis anymore just attendance. I may be just out of the loop but overall I don't see an improvement in my childs education if anything it's gotten worse. Last year my child was on the honor roll several times a big change from 5th Grade to 6th.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“Disappointed in the overall leadership of the program. Few classroom teachers buy into and understand the true meaning of Infusing the Arts into the Curriculum without making it extra lengthy home assignments. The Arts do a good job of reinforcing the curriculum however. Concerns about safety and positive behavior reinforcement using positive modeling in the classroom. Awesome Art teachers and support staff for students though. They get it & is what makes this school work! Parents are involved and want this program to succeed.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“This school started out with a strong philosophy that united staff students and parents Unfortunately, the original intent of the school--to provide an arts alternative--has been undone over the past several years. The school has become another test score mill.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“A wonderful school for a child that needs to be challenged. Very heavy on homework though. 2-3 hours a night is not at all unusual. My child has gotten a great education all things considered.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“My daughter just started attending Aims and she loves it. They have a great list of academics as well as art programs. The teachers are great.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“I love this school. This school provides dance, drama,art, and steel drum band. The rating I would give this school is a 5 out of 5. I would like to thank Mr. Mastroianni ( my 7th grade teacher) and i would like to thank Mr. Todd. They also have lots of new student teacher that helps alot.”
This review was posted by a student.

“This school is excellent for parents who work and want to be involved with their child's education. Not only do they get wonderful involvement with the arts, but the teachers understand that you can't always make it there for conferences. One teacher actually contacts me on a daily basis via e-mail to keep me up to date on my child's progress! Wonderful!”
This review was posted by a parent.

“Arts IMPACT Middle school offers excellent art and academic classes. The teachers make coming to school fun and interesting for students. Also they offer art classes that no other Columbus Public School has. Drama, two dance classes, Steel Drum Band, Marimba Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Visual Art 2D, Visual Art 3D, Band,and Strings. My personal favorite would have to be Steel Drum Band with Mr. J. His major is the reason most students come to school on Mon, Wed, and Fri. He makes learning fun and worth while.”
This review was posted by a former student.

“The school offers a shockingly large number of art classes (two music classes, two art, drama, dance) taught by talented instructors. It offers a wide range of extracurricular activities. The building is large and facilitates the needs of the school well--there is a full-size dance room with a professional dance floor, for instance.”
This review was posted by a other.

“Aims is my favorite school of all time i have so much fun learning there. i wish it whent up to 12th grade too bad its my last year it makes me soo sad. And i would have to say that my favorite teacher at aims is Mrs.Roth she is the sweetest teacher ive ever had and makes school worth going to.”
This review was posted by a former student.