| School Name | Address | Phone | Grades | County | Type | District Name |
| Totem Middle School | 26630 40th Ave S
Kent, WA 98031 | (253) 945-5100 | 6-8 | King | public | Federal Way School District |
| Ethnic Background | Percent | Year |
| White, non-Hispanic | 30.31 | 2010 |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 16.38 | 2010 |
| Hispanic | 29.09 | 2010 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 18.82 | 2010 |
| Native American or Native Alaskan | 1.05 | 2010 |
| Students Getting Free Lunch | Year |
| 59% | 2010 |
| Date | Who | Comments |
| 11/5/2009 | other | The staff and students are very spirited! Everyone works together efficiently which makes for a wonderful learing experience. I am proud to be a Totem Thunderbird !! |
| 11/5/2009 | other | The teachers and principal genuinely care about the students and are friendly and helpful. |
| 11/5/2009 | teacher | Totem Middle School is a very diverse school with fantastic staff and administration. I am proud to work here!!! |
| 11/5/2009 | parent | My daughter goes here! Ive seen her grwo and learn more things. since shes stepped into this school. |
| 11/5/2009 | student | I think that totem middle school is a great school because the teachers are great and know how to explain things to you right |
| 11/5/2009 | parent | I love Totem because even though we aren't the richest school in the District we still make the best of everything. We try our best at stuff and never seem to give up even though we never win anything. We really need the money so it would be very amazing if we won. |
| 11/4/2009 | parent | Totem staff and students care about each other. They have created a learning community where communication is key. |
| 11/4/2009 | parent | Totem Middle School provides a safe learning opportunity for all individuals in 6-8 grades. Last year we were picked to become an AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) demonstration school. This is a great honor for all the teachers and students. We are all proud to be a part of this wonderful school! |
| 11/4/2009 | parent | Totem has a wonderful staff and is a great place to be. The students are working hard and show great school spirit! |
| 11/4/2009 | teacher | The school climate is saturated with learning. Everyone from students to staff are geared for one thing - Learning. The Districts motto of 'Every Child a Reader' is exemplified here at Totem. |
| 11/4/2009 | parent | This school is a family! students feel cared and safe. Our principal has created a schedule so all students have the opportunity to experience different electives and we have close to 3/4's of the school in our music programs! Students are succeeding in their academics, treating each other with respect, parents are supportive and teachers work very hard to ensure a great learning community. |
| 11/4/2009 | parent | Totem is a diverse, energetic, accepting learning environment committed to it's students. The staff care for the students and trys to provide to the best of their ability opportunities that otherwise our kids would never get based on their situation and socio-economic status. I am proud to work in a school that is really trying to make a difference in our community. |
| 11/4/2009 | parent | Totem is a uniform school where lots of learning is taking place. There is an excellent ASB program where students help with food drives, announcements, and other school functions. There's an active after school art club whose art murals are amazing. Students are recognized monthly with a student of the month program that serves the selected students a special lunch and gives them recognition. A math club and a math Eistein club, and a homework club are some of the after school clubs offered to the students. |
| 11/3/2009 | teacher | Totem has the hardest working staff and the kindest students! The entire community has pulled together to make Totem the place to be. Go Thunderbirds! |
| 1/9/2009 | student | ok i go to totem so i know what i'm talking about. overall i don't think the school is very good. there are a lot of kids that goof off. so kids like me who always do the work are put behind. the teachers are ok but they don't really make sure you understand what your learning they just do it. some teachers have no control over there classroom while others have way to much. inthe end they fail. well thats what i think. my parents have no problem but thats because they don't really care |
| 5/10/2008 | parent | The teachers and administration spend most of their time focused on petty disciplinary issues rather than motivating the kids. The band program is good, though. |
| 3/19/2008 | parent | Well it lives up to the standards of fwps district-- My daughter is a very smart girl who needs to be challenged and inspired not subjected to riducule, shame , and violence. This school just makes ends meet- my child improves their wasl scores and they destroy her spirit. How sad. |
| 12/16/2005 | parent | My son attended Tomtem with mixed results. Great Science and English. The principle and VP have been approachable and strive to help the students learn in a good atmosphere. |
| 2/26/2004 | parent | Totem Middle is a great school in transition. Totem became a Middle School this year and have made many changes. Transition for the students went smoothly and my child felt supported, safe and ready for the change. Totem supports all students regardless of their ecomonical or cultural background. The staff at Totem is excellent. Parents need to be involved, stay involved and respect the hardwork and dedication that is put forth. Many things have been changed to make room for the necessities such as reading, writing, math. Some of the changes are not popular. Parents need to remember what Totems goals are and support the needs that are important. |
| 2/24/2004 | parent | Totem Middle School is a wonderfully diverse school with excellent leadership. The Principal and Assistant Principal exceed my expectations everyday. It infuriates me when others speak about the low socioeconomic status. Regardless of race or income level every student at Totem receives great academic instruction and leadership. Totem has recently changed from a Jr. High to a Middle School. Cheerleading is great in a high school setting. Our educational dollars need to be spent on reading,writing and math skills and getting our kids up to grade level not the old ra ra ra! I am amazed at how high the level of parent involvement is at this school. Those with opinions should really step forward to help not berate. I challenge all the parents that have both positive and negative opinions to come forward to discuss them with our leadership. |
| 2/23/2004 | other | The Federal Way School District has instituted some sweeping reforms. This school is now a middle school, grades 6-8. Electives have unfortunately been limited to just one, and they are mostly music. The teachers are teaching to state standards at this school, reading is done school wide for 20 minutes daily. Reading scores are dramatically increasing. Extracurricular activites are plentiful, with an activity bus that runs one hour after school dismisses. Study Club for students needing help are the primary riders of that bus. Contrary to what the first parent wrote, I feel that this school has fine leadership. Cheerleaders would only contribute to more problems that occur when you have the wide socio-economic levels that we have. Broad ethnic diversity is one of this schools strengths. |
| 2/15/2004 | parent | Educational approach is archaic. Needs new leadership to invoke spirit in the program. They can't even have cheerleaders because the principal says so. There are many parents who are low income who could contribute to this review if only you didn't have the e-mail reqirement. They are too poor to have an email address!! |
| 1/20/2004 | former student | I think that Totem is a great school my child loved it the teachers were great and the principal was also great! |
