iMater Charter Middle/High School, Hialeah | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

Some teachers actually do their role and teach, at least for high school, and include some fun into their lessons, at least the ones that I have had experience with. For instance, Valero, who has a math IQ comparable to a God and his teaching skills are one of the best, if not the best in the world, for his undeniable generosity with his students. Some are wacky, weird, and disoriented. It is questionable as to how they are still hired and even got hired in the first place. Most are new to the work place (some without a teaching license or prior experience or even any knowledge of the curriculum they are suppose to teach). Also there is a surprising amount of students here that lack basic reading skills, and seem to not improve. Most of the staff here is nice, especially the principal Santalo, who listens to students, and Campos, who helps students in anything they need. However, a few of securities have biases on students and even make unnecessary rude and insulting comments to students, which by definition, “use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone)”, is bullying, but since they are staff they get away with it. I feel like if anything ever goes down, and may god forbid it, they will make their life a priority and push students to harms way. One person, which I extremely dislike, if not HATE with a burning passion, is LORA! He made my school transition a living hell, and often screams at students, and parents as well. I know this sounds dumb, but when I transferred to this high school from another one, I would use my phone during lunch, since I was intimidated by everyone and had no friends. I have an antisocial nature and anxiety, so making new friends in a new city was extremely difficult for me, using my phone was the lone ‘freedom” I had and relied heavily on the 40 minutes to take a break from the stress of being in a new school. One day, while I was using my phone, Lora came and swiped my phone from me. I felt violated, as this was the only control I had. Instead of warning me or taking the time to explain himself, it seemed as if he does not have any respect or consideration for us. I went to the bathroom and had a complete mental breakdown, which lead me into a state of depression for the next several months. On that same day, I confronted the staff about the issue, and was completely disregarded as I had “signed” a contract, which at this point I had not since it was the first week and the contract was a big packet and I wanted to understand it. I know that this was a stupid reason, but he does not know manners nor ethics. To simply put it, it seems like using a phone in this school is the most heinous, abominable act in the face of this earth. For directing traffic, he picks fights with people, no matter if they are in a car or walking. Instead of helping, he aggravates the situation and parents who are daunted by the beautiful location of this school, mind you we are at the heart of factories, train tracks, and small businesses. Also, it can be noted that he uses insulting words such as retard lightly and mostly directed at students. I believe that his son got fired from the elementary for using curse words in front of ELEMENTARY CHILDREN! Which is another thing, most staff members are picked not by merit, but by family connections. On top of having no manners towards students or parents, they manage to charge you every other week for something new. They are money-hungry, and do not care for your economic stance. I am appalled by all of the conditions stated and many more. If I have stayed in this school is because of the support system I have made with other students who feel the same, and well Valero and Campos, who encourage and motivate me on the daily.

I believe that I Mater is a good school but, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t flawed. Now if you judge a book by its cover than yes, you might think the school is bad because it’s location is unfortunate (because it’s surrounded by 3 trains). However, looking past the unbelievable traffic it produces it’s actually really nice. I’ve seen some other reviews on this that make the uniform sound unreasonable but it really isn’t. The administration had rules they aren’t new. At the beginning of the year you sign a contract of wearing the correct uniform as directed by the contract. The second most prominent complaint is it’s food and I don’t know what they are expecting…. It’s school not a resort. You go there to learn not eat and if it bothers you so much than just pack your lunch (Idk). And the last complaint is the quality of the teachers which is both true and a little misleading. I’d like to say that most teachers are good at their job but it’s tough because some are highly bias (especially the security) so it’s better to go by each class. History, science, and some times math teachers are pretty good. On the other hand language arts and EVERY elective are pretty low on my opinion. Moreover I was surprised that no one mentioned my main complaint with the school, it’s undeniable incoherence. Everyone in the school seems to be on a different page and the communication among teachers is VERY LOW.

I forgot add on that my child was NOT using her phone during class hours but during her lunch time , this is so unfair towards kids who aren’t social and are just trying to mind their business. FORCED to look at a wall or interact with people they dont like which is what later on causes problems . Also school bathrooms aren’t even a restroom but a smoke room ?? only reason i dont remove my child from here is because school year is about to end . DONT.BRING.YOUR.KIDS.HERE . Period . Y’all are there to teach my child education not raise them .. and from what im seeing they dont even teach . Im done