University High School

It’s a really great school but the work load can be overwhelming

This school does not recruit honestly. They determine entrance with a cognitive aptitude test, but what they want are students who are gifted with organization. Being organized is more important than understanding course work because the volume of work given in each class is A LOT. They do not tell you this in any of the parent meetings leading up to school. They do not indicate this in their BOOST program, even though they have your kid for 2 weeks and advertise mock classes. The homework is staggering, and it is difficult to do much else. Your kid's life will revolve around it. Your life might revolve around it. You should also know that if your kid does sports the AIA does not recognize a transfer back to your home school as a hardship. Even if your kid was stressed to the point of being unhealthy they will still be subjected to the transfer rule and have to sit out of their sports at their new school. This school is great for true geniuses or for kids that are intense (bordering OCD) about school, but for gifted kids that are creative/spacey and need a minute to think it could be miserable. You have to be able to do quality school work (especially writing) quickly when you are exhausted, like when you have only had a few hours of sleep every night for the past week kind of tired. It is nuts. During a seven day teacher strike my kid's teacher covered a few chapters over email and tested them the day they came back. Also, if the whole class fails a test don't expect a curve. The whole class just gets a failing grade. Again, nuts. Make sure you know what you are getting into before you decide on this school. It is not easy to undo, especially if your kid does sports, and the consequences for trying it, if it goes bad, are steep. Some kids are better off going to a regular high school and getting a good GPA. Colleges want kids to have a high GPA, and that is much harder to get at this school. A lot of their recruitment is about reasons other than your kid. They want their own campus, and overcrowding is the most valid claim they have so they keep pumping up the numbers. Also, non district kids pouring in make UHS a cash cow. Every day that your out of district kid is a student there is more money for cash strapped TUSD. They hide their attrition stats for a reason. Try to find them. You can't! Make sure you know what you're getting into!

Great organization! Great helps! Great teachers! Great connections between parents! Great support for helping students! Great curriculum offered and great guilding for students to follow!! Wonderful!!

teachers and he school facilities are very good.