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Oasis Middle School


Country United States
State Florida
City Bradenton
Address 4304 32nd St W
Phone 1 941-749-1979

Oasis Middle School Reviews

  • Nov 29, 2021

Oasis Middle School in Bradenton, Florida is a joke. The kids sit on out of date broken down computers and tablets that are barely functional. The school cannot afford to buy updated equipment for the kids, but somehow Assistant Director Gabriel Ortiz manages to take long, extravagant trips overseas, by way of a "grant" Ortiz mysteriously receives, although the source of the funding/grant he receives is never named. I don't think it's too hard to figure this one out.

The trips are unrelated to his work at Oasis Middle School as Assistant Director. A few years back Gabriel Ortiz went all the way to the Globe Theatre in London to study acting, his chosen profession. In fact the only training and degree(s) that Gabriel Ortiz has are in drama/theatre, or reading, which he teaches. Gabriel Ortiz happened into teaching later in life when I am guessing Ortiz could not support himself as an actor and realized that it was never going to happen for him.

The big "backstory" around Gabriel Ortiz is that he grew up poor in California to a mother who was a drug addict, most of his brothers and father are in jail, and he and his mother were taken in by his grandmother and a "village of women." I think that this is a bunch of s**t. I was also told by the Director of the school, a woman named Rochelle Stokes, grew up poor in Philadelphia in a tiny house with something like 14 people. However, according to Rochelle Stokes Facebook page she is a graduate of Bayshore High School right in Bradenton, Florida where Oasis Middle School is located. Hence, I think the stories surrounding Ortiz and Stokes are fabricated, much like that of actors you hear about that lived in their cars and such.

Oasis Middle School cannot keep a teacher and has a turnover rate that is unbelievable. It would be easier if the kids didn't learn the names of the teachers because the teachers do not stay.

The only teachers who are certified at Oasis Middle Scool are Assistant Directors Gabriel Ortiz (whose only degrees are in drama/theatre) and Rochelle Stokes. Not even the Director of the School, a woman named Edna Bailey, is certified. The school uses a "curriculum" called Study Island. The students sit on barely useable machines and basically teach themselves.

Oasis Middle School changed campuses a few years back and the old campus was infested with bugs. The cafeteria where the kids ate and had some classes was infested with bugs and little German cockroaches and the school worked very hard to hide this from the district.

The school acts like they are there for the kids, but in reality the people at the school are only there for themselves. If a parent has a child with special learning needs they might think that Oasis is the place to go, but those parents will be very, very sorry. The people from the school will say whatever they think people want to hear, but once your kid is in the school, and the school receives funding from the state/county, they will often cut the kids loose. The school also knows they get extra funds for ESE (Exceptional Student Education) students. When I worked at Oasis I watched the administrators at the school have kids at the school that they had no intention of keeping, the school just waited long enough to get the funding, then kicked the kids out.

The Director of Oasis Middle School, Edna Bailey, used to say that Oasis Middle School is "not a behavior management school." However, the majority of students at Oasis Middle School go to the school for exactly this reason. I visited another local public school recently and even the people who worked at that school noted how "bad" the kids from Oasis Middle School are.

There are a lot of options out there for your children people and you have the option of school choice. Save yourselves from Oasis Middle School. You can do much, MUCH better than Oasis Middle School in Bradenton, Florida, but it would be hard to do worse.

  • Aug 29, 2020

Oasis middle school is a joke. They claim to be a small environment who is there to help the students, but in reality it is situated on a crummy campus and the facilities, equipment, technology there for the kids is poor. They use, or did use a software platform called study island. The kids are given crummy old tablets and laptops that are falling apart/have cracked broken screens and basically told to log-in to study island and teach themselves.

The school might tell you they can help you, that the program they have will work for your kid, but they will tell you anything to get you through the door. Once you get in the kid is forgotten. They just want the money from the state/county. They have even been known to take kids they have no intention of keeping, they just keep them long enough to get the public funding and let the kid go. Not just idle chatter, all you have to do is check their record.

They take kids with special learning needs/iep's because they get extra funding for these kids, then they do nothing. They don't care what accommodations/modifications the kids are supposed to get, the admin. At oasis middle school does whatever they wand make "adjustments" to their grades when they have to report. It's kind of odd too because several members of the admin. Staff worked at a now defunct charter school called the richard milburn academy amd if you do your research you will find that this school got in trouble for the same thing. Giving grades to kids that they did not deserve.

Changing the lives of at-risk kids through theatre? The last play ortiz did was two school years ago with less than 10 carefully selected students who were all girls. And there is something off about a gay man like ortiz writing a play titled "don't tell me how to be a girl."

Oasis middle school also cannot keep teachers and staff, which speaks volumes. Literally. As in the school went through around 6 or so teachers in the 2018-2019 school year alone, 3 of which were gone before the christmas break. And no, these people were not let go, they left of their own accord. The fact that oasis can't keep teachers and staff and you don't know who your kid is going to be from one week to the next speaks volumes.

Do not get sucked in. You can and should do better for your kids. Oasis middle school is a joke and i don't know how they are still in business.

  • Mar 4, 2020

Teachers don't stay, closest thing to an activity is Asst. Director Gabriel Ortiz who puts on "plays" that are written and directed by himself. Ortiz is gay/married to another man & his plays have topics like students who are gay or "coming out.". I found these to be inappropriate topics for my child, my child can make-up their own mind, not be indoctrinated.

The fact that the school can't keep teachers who come and go like a permanent revolving door speaks volumes. In the 2018-2019 school year alone the school lost at least 4 teachers (Richard Winterbottom/ELA, Rebecca Patterson/Intensive Math, Eula Bacon, long time social studies teacher who brought record civics scores the year before, and Collette Killany, who taught science.

Killany was not hired until after Christmas and did not stay. The school started and has gone the past two years without a regular science teacher and were still hiring for science recently. These teachers don't leave because they are fired, they leave on their own. Patterson made it known that the micromanaging and disorganization at the school were too much and she would rather go back to substitute teaching than have a full time position at Oasis.

There were also two teachers, Rashid/social studies, Carrigan, ELA, who were hired to help in their respective content areas. They didn't stay either. Kids were very open about how badly Rashid and Carrigan were treated by the staff/admin. they worked with.

Two main people who run the school, Rochelle Stokes, Asst. Director/Language Arts, and Gabriel Ortiz, Asst. Director/Reading, only Stokes has a degree in Ed. Leadership. Ortiz happened into education later in life. Ortiz is a prima donna who acts like he is there to help the kids, but is a complete and total narcissist. Ortiz is more about promoting himself and is a trained actor, great at putting on a show and deceiving people. Stokes doesn't have a great personality, but is a great teacher who cares about the kids, but is cold, unfriendly, and not approachable. The kids fear Ortiz and Stokes more than they respect them. They rule the school and control students and staff through intimidation. Kinda odd they claim to be anti-bullying when they are the biggest bullies at the school themselves.

School resources stink. Students teach themselves on a computer program. Kids are given tablets, computers that hardly work w/broken screens. The internet stinks and goes out constantly. When the school cannot gets the internet to work the teachers are told to use the personal wi-hi hotspots on their phones at their own expense.

Up until this last year the school shared its space with a community church. The kids ate (and had classes) in a bug infested gym and that the school took hid from the county/district. Any staff member or student (former or present) who was there in 18-19 can verify, & a/c was often broken. Kids sat sweating as they tried to attend class and work. Some of the classrooms, like the old science room, were more like saunas.

The classes are presented to kids using television monitors that are set up on tables. It's kinda odd the the director has a giant tv in her office and can see everything that is going on, but can not afford to buy better equipment for the teachers and staff. Teachers are asked and often required to use their own personal computers at work.

At the new school the campus has cameras EVERYWHERE (even in the classrooms), which is not even usually allowed in the public schools. It is also rumored that EVERYONE (including students and staff) are audio recorded without their knowledge. This is common knowledge among the staff and when I worked there briefly I was warned by a senior staff member. If you attend/work at Oasis BE CAREFUL, "big brother" is always watching.

  • Feb 21, 2020

Horrible charter school in Bradenton (Manatee County) Florida. I don't know how this school stays open. Two main people running the school are Rochelle Stokes and Gabriel Ortiz and only Stokes has a background in education. Ortiz has a background in drama/theatre and "happened" into education later in life.

The school moved to a new location this year at 6417 3rd Avenue West in Bradenton. Last year they shared their space with a church group off of 34th and Cortez Road in Bradenton. The students ate lunch in and had classes in a bug infested gymnasium that the school worked hard to hide from the county or they would have been s**t down real quick. Ask any student (past or present) that was around for the 2018-209 school year and they can tell you.

Most of the school consists of makeshift classrooms where the teachers set up smaller flat screen tvs on cafeteria style tables and project lessons from their own personal computers. The students are given tiny little Amazon Fire tablets, most of which have cracked/broken screens, and are barely useable. If not the tablets, the students get old, barely functioning computers and there are not enough to serve the school population.

The school uses a computer program called Study Island. The students go through modules at their own pace and the students make jokes about teaching themselves. There are little or no allowances made for students with learning differences.

Oasis Middle School has an extremely high turnover of staff and teachers, which speaks volumes for the school. During the 2018-2019 school year, Oasis Middle School lost 5 or 6 teachers, 3 of them by Christmas break alone (Richard Winterbottom/ELARebecca Patterson/Intensive Math, and Eula Bacon/Social Studies) all gone by Christmas Break. Oasis started out 2018-2019 with no science teacher, then hired a science teacher mid-year (Collette Killany) and she didn't stay long (not fired, left on her own). The school went into the next 2019-2020 year with no science teacher, hired an older man who didn't stay. As of the date I am writing this, Spring 2020, Oasis Middle School is without and actively advertising/ seeking a regular, certified English/Language Arts Teacher, Science Teacher, and Math Teacher. A small school without teachers in three major content areas.

The teachers are paid a pittance and there are no personal days, vacation days, holidays, summer pay, etc... of any kind. There are also NO BENEFITS of any kind offered at Oasis Middle School.

There are no extracurricular activities, sports, clubs, "specials" like art/music of any kind. There is a small group that averages 8 to 10 girls that participate in what the school calls a dram program because the openly gay Assistant Principal has a background in theatre and uses it as more of a platform to promote himself than help the kids. I find a gay man writing a play titled "Don't Tell Me How to Be a Girl" kind of strange and the content inappropriate for a school play and would not let my granddaughter participate.

There are a lot of options and good schools out there. Oasis Middle School is a port representation of a school and I have no idea how this school stays open. Do your research. You can do better for your child.

  • Jan 23, 2020

Revolving door of teachers who don't stay. There are no clubs, sports, activities, etc... The closest thing to an activity is Asst. Director Gabriel Ortiz who puts on "plays" that are written and directed by himself and are more a means of self-promotion for Ortiz than helping the kids.

Ortiz is gay/married to another man & his plays have topics like students who are gay or "coming out.". I respect the lifestyle choice of any individual and have gay family members. However, I found these to be inappropriate topics for my child/a middle school "play" and would not allow my child to participate in the drama group.

If my child chooses that lifestyle I will respect their choice and love my child unconditionally, but that is a personal decision. My child needs to be allowed to make-up their own mind and decide for themselves, not be indoctrinated.

The two main people who run the school are Rochelle Stokes, Asst. Director/Language Arts, and Gabriel Ortiz, Asst. Director/Reading. Of these two individuals, only Stokes has a degree in Ed. Leadership. Ortiz has a background in theatre and happened into education later in life.

The school resources stink. The students use a program called Study Island and basically teach themselves on a computer program. The kids are given tablets, computers that hardly work w/broken screens, computers that don't have chargers that work, and expected to sit for hours. The internet is poor and always goes down.

Up until this last year the school shared its space with a community church group. The kids ate (and had classes) in a bug infested gym and that the schoo worked hard to conceal from the county/district, but ant staff member or student (former or present) who was there in 18-19 can verify this are fact. The gym often has a/c thag was often broken.

The classes are presented to kids using television monitors that are set up on tables with poor wi-fi service that is out often.

School has cameras EVERYWHERE (even in the classrooms)and it rumored EVERYONE (including students and staff) are being audio recorded without their knowledge. If you attend/work at Oasis BE CAREFUL, "big brother" is always watching.

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