Western High School

I can't really say to much about this school yet my son just started attending and so it is too soon to tell but an update as the year furthers in

Say what you want about Western, but what that school lacks in budget and access, the teaches more than make up for in sheer heart and dedication. Unlike a lot of "higher end" schools, they seem far more interested in what the students are actually learning (both educationally and developmentally) rather than treating them like walking test scores. I sent my child to a fancy magnet school last year, and they basically treated the students like glorified show ponies. He came home crying from stress about half of the time, and the overwhelming amount of insipid and uninspired group projects erased his genuine love of learning. I wish I had realized what Western had to offer him, because I would have chosen it for him hands down. He is interested again, engaged again, ALIVE again.

For those who think Western Highschool is a bad school, well for your information it's not as bad as everyone makes it seem. I am a freshman at Western and a first I really didn't want to go there because of what people would say about it. Although I'm very glad I did because Western has really grown over the years. Western is now a STEM school ! It has many different clubs, sports, and the teachers there are great. It also offers great tutoring for those who need it. I don't know why people are saying that theres always so many fights when I haven't seen one or heard about any. I'm also in the medical program here at Western, actually I'm in two different ones. I study biomedical science and health science, which yes is different than health education. Health science lets you go into sports med or certified nursing. At the end of the day it's just a building its about how hard the student wants to succeed in school and everything else they do. You could put your child in the top schools in the country but that doesn't mean there going to graduate geniuses. Western really isn't that bad, it offers great opportunities. It is up to you to take advantage of them.

I have to agree with the two previous reviewers. However, I believe the problem has less to do with the students and more to do with lack of support and poor communication from the administration. There is a lack of consistency when it comes to student discipline at the administrative level and teachers get very little backup. As a result, a few chronic disrupters remain in the classroom to interfere with the majority of students' learning. As one reviewer has mentioned, a large number of students read and write well below high school level, yet teachers are expected to teach material that many students aren't ready for. As a result, the students become frustrated and grow apathetic toward learning. It is a lose-lose situation for the student and the teacher. Western's administration should get back to the basics and focus on the students. And here's another idea: listen to the teachers, since they are the ones working with the students day in and day out. Instead, the administration seems to be focused on raising test scores and meeting federal benchmarks set by policy makers with little or no teaching background.