I like the look. I think your target audience does not really demand a "professional" look per-say. I think you want a look that they can identify with, which I believe you're on the right track for.
Nice idea, I was actually going to start a forum somewhat similar to this only vetoschool.com obviously more anti school but on the same lines none the less. Site looks good tho. Try telling some local schools about it and getting the word out.
its a forum, theres not a lot you can do wrong seeing as the design is pretty much done for you. I would lighten the whole thing up tho. lighter pastel background, lose the brown in the title banner. check out actionscript [DOT] [ORG] (i cant post links yet) and then click on their forum link to see what i mean
New update.... We have totaly redesigned www.theschoolground.com, we added vB instead of MyBB along with a custom skin so would love to hear your comments on it and hope to see you there!
I think the school topics need to be more related to school, there is a girl section but not a boy lol
Looks very good, despite what others say I really do enjoy the logo. I will return to the site from time to time. Your user base can be that of a very local one. I might assume that you are still in school, if so pump it to your friends as well as anyone in school. Try some off-line ads like flyer's or some shit like that. Get the word out in a local community. Thats where I would start. Good work !