Inderkum High School

I wrote the last review of the IB Programme (see below) yet have had many negative experiences since then. The scholars math for sophomores has been deleted. Last year my daughter was put into a class with no teacher. She was then transferred into a class with a teacher that only showed up once a week as he was the coach of the golf team. This year my daughter had no chemistry teacher for the entire first semester. Lesson plans were emailed in from the previous teacher and a counselor with no chemistry experience showed up twice a week to check in on the class. The new chemistry teacher introduced himself by saying that he never wanted to teach the class and that he was forced to take the position. He elaborated by saying that he did not have the knowledge to teach the class and that he would be learning right along with the students. My daughter and I spoke at length with the principal about a transfer to another class as a fellow student had just transferred. We were told that school policy was that no students are allowed to transfer unless there are extraordinary circumstances. After admitting to several falsehoods that principal refused say what would constitute an extraordinary circumstance. As a result my daughter will not be taking senior chemistry and her interesting chemistry has been extinguished. This is my second child going through the IB programme at Inderkum and the IB exam subject pass rates for this school are abysmal. Although there are good parts of the program much of it is an IB programme in name only. If you are looking for an IB experience for your child I strongly encourage you to look elsewhere. Other schools like Mira Loma have much better programs and the AP classes at other schools are likely superior to Inderkum IB. While two of my children will have been through Inderkum IB, my younger two children will certainly be going elsewhere.

Like every big public school in a big city there are issues with behavior problems, bullying, etc. There are excellent teachers who deserve the highest honors for their passion to teach and some who should be fired after years of parents and students complaining of unfair treatment & ineffective teaching methods. I have had 2 kids at this school and they both got out of it what they put in. The school has had many changes in leadership over the years and would benefit from consistency. There is very little parent involvement with the same few parents doing the bulk of everything, working their tails off to make better PTSA, Athletic boosters, etc. There are good programs like CECA and IB but both are still fairly new and have room for growth. The Band is great and there are lots of sports programs. It's a great school for musicians, athletes, academically motivated kids. If your kid needs a lot of pushing and monitoring you should seek out counselors and teachers to connect with early on otherwise your kid might fall through the cracks.

Addition to the previous post, one student was 18 and the other student was under the age of 16.

This is a good school if you are an involved parent. Don't expect the staff/administrators to reach out, you as a parent need to reach out. The school is definitely getting better, but still much room for improvement. Principal Garcia is making a difference, glad to see some great parents as well! Keep up the good work Inderkum.