This is my son's last year in Tarkanian. He has been attending this school since 6th grade. As a parent, I'm actually sad. I'm going to miss this school as a parent. The principal is amazing! Communication is very good! Something we didn't have consistent at his elementary school. The parking, drop off and pick up traffic is always smooth. They have a flow that everyone is supposed to follow. I do hate the selfish parents that sit in their cars waiting for their kids while blocking the parked cars. Grrrr! I think the school staff should work on getting those to leave. I especially LOVE that they schedule a day for us to pick up their school schedules prior to first day of school. That day not only gives us an opportunity to get classes ahead of time, but getting lockers and combo too, we get to check their classrooms and have a game plan of where to go so that the kids aren't late and lost looking for their classrooms and lockers on the first day of school. A nice sneak peak for us parents too =) On that day, we have the opportunity to pay for everything upfront such as the PE uniforms, Elective class fees like my son's orchestra fees and concert uniform fees, Tarkanian Merchandise, etc any questions at all, the Counselors have their own table and are available to answer any concerns. This is held in both their cafeteria and Gym. I really love this! It's less stress and less hectic on the first day/week is school for the kids! I have a lot of nieces and nephews who go to other middle schools and none of them do this! They tell me how crazy it is with payments of class fees etc on first week and some take weeks before they even get their PE uniforms and lockers A few weeks in the school year, they schedule another event which is the official meet and greet/open house for parents to meet each class/teachers, they go over class expectations, grading scales, contact Information, answer any questions for parents, clarify what needs to be clarified, etc. an announcer gives each class about 10-15 mins and it's like a musical chair game and we move to the next classroom. I absolutely LOVE this idea!! A VERY organized school overall! The principal/ assistant principal is in the courtyard available for any questions and to just greet the parents, direct foot traffic. They continue to amaze me! (Mr Reece Oswald & Mr Musemici) My son has no issues with his teachers and staff, just the student's culture which isn't something anyone can control I think. As most middle school aged kid, he said his first year, all everyone talked about is sex, dating, swearing etc. that is unfortunately not avoidable in middle school. He said in his 3 years so far (2-3 months in 8th grade right now) he has only seen 2 fights. But it was broken up fairly quickly by the staff, 2 girls fighting in the cafeteria and 2 young new 6th graders boys. So far no bullies that I know of. I ask my son from time to time. He seems fairly happy at this school. Great friends, great food (I don't pack him food, he prefers Catherine cafeteria food believe it or not lol) The front office admin team is nice and pleasant. =) They have kids in each hallways that monitor and direct. I'm not sure what they're called but it's pretty awesome. The school used to sit on the desert by itself but since my son's first year there, they've built houses all around it now. So contruction was a nightmare. It's almost done now though. (Nov 2019) so all the houses and streets surrounding it is brand spanking new. American west homes. (Those are nice homes!!) very clean and quiet neighborhood. Safe when there are no creepers following kids around. There was 1 incident where a white truck followed a kid walking to school, it was on the news but the kid made it to school safely and the parents were notified immediately and was also in the local news. Oh and they have themed school dances every year for all grades which is pretty awesome to have! The kids enjoy it!! The kids seems to fear the staff (lol) which is a really great sign the staff is doing their jobs of discipline and establishing authority and as a parent, I am all for that!! My son is in orchestra and misses Mrs. Gray. She unfortunately moved out of state but he says his current teacher Mr McGlasson is actually pretty awesome too. It is also currently a 5-star rated school!! Pretty excited about that! I will continue to add more to this review if needed by end of school year but it has been so far so good. No complaints in 3 years. =) read more

Horrible I used to be a student here and it's trashy and the bathrooms are a mess always. There's fights every week and the teachers are unreasonable. Is you get ms K for math I feel bad. I I could rate it 0 stars I would read more

You may be wondering why I gave this school such a low rating. I don't go to this school now since I left after two months being there. (I left in October 2025). Here's why, for context before I went to Tarkanian I was actually in a small private school with amazing kids and teachers loved that school. However, my parents needed me to find a new school to go to. The two school's we applied for were this one and another. I got into this school first. Before I started Tarkanian I thought this was actually going to be a good school, but holy shit god had other plans. When I first entered and observed the school for the first week. I immediately noticed some huge red flags. First of all, the student's behavior was absolutely terrible although there were some who were actually pretty nice, but most of their behavior was absolute dogshit. They would talk during class, eat gum also in class, and not listen to the teachers. Also, if you are trying to use the bathroom during passing period it is absolute chaos in their whole bunch of students doing whatever in there. Also, there is some shady stuff going on with the students. For example, I have a friend that I have been friends for a long time with before Tarkanian and we still hang out but anyways. My friend told me that another kid from my school (his name is Tristan) who was friends with this dude was that when my friend passed by one of Tristans friend's locker it smelt like weed. He legit told me that. Another thing I saw with one of the students in this school was that when I was waiting for the staff to let us into our classes inside a specific building. I saw a dude in a corner looking around like nobody was noticing him and he casually started counting money like my guess was like it was 200 dollars he was counting. I don't know how he got the money but he definitely 99.9% did something shady. Also, the school lunches are terrible except the teriyaki. Like the food they serve us I am questioning if that's actually food or if it's made from something entirely different like I don't want to know. Also, you can't get through a lesson in class without someone getting in trouble or doing something stupid. In my math class the students are absolute shit in there so much that the teacher has to yell at them every day and chew them out. I like the math teacher she's pretty nice but man those students are absolute assholes to her. Like she deserves better. Also, one time a student literally sprayed perfume in class which she is allergic to in another class my friend was in and had a severe allergic reaction. Like there is a whole ass sign giving warnings about her allergies on the door like can you not read. That was the day she almost died but luckily the hospital managed to save her. Man, those students need to have better respect and manners. The only thing I really liked about the school was the teachers and the staff. They were so kind and amazing. They definitely helped me out when I went there. In conclusion we need to have some students background and mental health checked. read more

Be aware of this school... if you are thinking of bringing your kids here and expect them to receive an education look elsewhere. This school is ran by an administrator who will lie, fabricate and will allow harassment and predatory behavior. The principal Mrs. Rose will more than likely send your kid to behavioral school if they are of color despite their social status. Bringing awareness to Southern Highlands and we deserve a better leader to protect our youth! Bringing this to light will make Mrs. Rose hostile and abrasive if not agreeing to their unethical practices. read more

ii do not because the teachers are very rude and disrespectful they get mad at you for no reason and yell slot they don't take care of the sped kids that are rude and people there are also very rude and disrespectful as in kids aswell and it's just bad over all read more

The school is great but the some of the teachers don't really teach the students they just expect the students to learn doing work and watching videos read more

Im currently attending 8th grade here and dont get me wrong some people there are amazing and some not so much. Some of the teachers are rude and usually most of the time choose favorites (in my experiences so far). The school food is terrible and the only thing decent is the teriyaki, orange chicken, and the pizza. The education is alright but some teachers just make you go on sites and expect you to learn from that because you are in an accelerated class and you should be able to find everything by yourself without the assistance of a teacher. The only class i really enjoy anymore is Pre-Alg with Mrs.Thompson. read more

I actually went to this school! Now graduated, I'd like to appreciate my 6th grade english teacher, Ms. Chewjalearn. Thank u for helping me succeed. You were the best teacher ever! So many memories made read more

Currently an 8th grader at this school, its academics are actually super good, but they are awful at handling issues especially between students at school. Their staff is super ignorant and they could care less about students. There are several fights that occur during school and the way they give students 0 justice. read more

This school is horrible so parents do you're kid a favor and don't in roll you're kids here because the food is horrible and the teachers could care less about there students this school is horrible at handling situations there are many fights in the bathrooms and even in the halls and they won't do anything other then suspended you or keep you in a room with nothing but doing work.Kids here are very inappropriate they are always cussing also there are always problems like electricity and Wi-Fi going out in the middle of class. read more

Hello this school is a good environment For my child and I am happy to have him come to this school and he loves it read more

Great school. The teachers are fantastic and supportive. My two daughters both have Mr. Clayton and he is fantastic, along with their other 6th grade teachers. There are a lot of programs and activities for kids to do at this school. I wouldn't send my kids elsewhere. read more

Staff puts in great efforts with classes that are huge. It's the largest enrolled middle school in ccsd and parents want their kids to go there. It's safe and a great place to send your kids. My son was there for three years and loved it read more

Our kids love this school! They are involved in so much! The school makes efforts to work with parents when there are issues with students. The review regarding socializing... school is for learning. My daughter mentioned there is 30 minutes for lunch and that is their socializing time. Thank you Tarkanian Middle School! read more

I find it odd that they don't recognize students who achieved excellency in their class for the last quarter of 6th and 7th grades. Recognition are for graduating class only. What they have are free food in the first 3 quarters. How can the kids be motivated to do their best? read more

I love this school. Me and my family would not want to go to another school. I think any kid would love to to be a shark. Kid make friends. His school is so great You'll have a tune of friends in seconds. Plus the teachers really care about there students. read more

This is the WORST school I have ever been in. PARENTS if you're reading this, do your child a huge favor and enroll them in a different school. Hardly any of the teachers here make an effort or even know how to teach. All of the students are basically using the Internet to teach themselves. The school often had some sort of problem ranging from broken air condition to no wifi or lighting. If your child was looking forward to making new friends, they will ,with no doubt, be disappointed. It is almost impossible to make friends at this school because they do not allow you to socialize in any way. If a class is lucky a teacher will let them socialize for a few minutes at the beginning of the year but that won't even make a difference because students here are so cliquey. In addition, seating is ALWAYS crammed during lunch. Not to mention some of the teachers at the school. I will admit that a handful of teachers here do care about the students and actually make an effort to teach them but the majority (as in 99%) of the teachers here are absolutely terrible. I would LOVE to name some of them but I feel as though that might be slightly too "harsh" but trust me, once you are placed in their class, you will KNOW that you will struggle in that class. Overall, this school is downright awful and you would be better off sending your child to another school. read more

Parents please do not send your child to Tarkanian Middle School as it is one of the worst schools in Clark county. My child as been bullied from the moment they started school not only by other students but by the Dean's office as well. My child was thrown to the ground, jumped from behind, strangled, made fun of, taunted and told to just go kill themself. Everytime that my child would try and tell the Dean's office what was going on, their direct response was well what did you do? Excuse me but what kind of response is that and from a authority figure and person that students should rely on to help and protect their well-being. Then only to have my child be told that it was their fault for trying to get away from being choked and their fault for pushing the student off of them and their fault for screaming at the student to stop. Then on top of it all my child is suspended for protecting themself. read more