Avant

Hays Porter is a gem of a neighborhood school. Our kiddo is on year 3 there (two years of preschool, currently in kindergarten). He has thrived at Hays Porter, and we have had nothing but positive interactions with teachers and staff. Hays is a gem of a neighborhood school and they have so many community partners that support the students and teachers. We are a proud Hays Porter family.

This school is horrible I would give it zero stars

Even though it advertises itself as "college prep," students are not given the same level of independence as actual college students. They have to be scheduled for something every bell, they have to be on time to every class, and they have to be at school every day, as opposed to in college where as long as you complete the assignments, you can skip class, and you can schedule as many or as few classes as you want per semester.Because it's a public school, we had to eat public school food. Even though there are lot of private donations, they don't extend to hiring restaurant-quality staff for the cafeteria.There's not much personalization you can do for your education. You have to take the classes that the State of Ohio requires you to take, and the classes that WHHS requires you to take. You can't really "major" in anything while you're in high school.While it was a letdown for me, it might be something that others liked, as far as how regular of a high school it is once you get past the entrance test. I didn't go to WHHS to take gym, but you're required to take it to graduate, and one of the worst teachers I had when I was there was one of my gym teachers. The other kids there cared too much about the same stuff that regular high school kids care about, like clothes and sports, that have nothing to do with being smart.Despite the fact that we excel on standardized tests and high graduation rates, most students do not have distinguished academic careers. You can graduate from there without ever making honor roll or taking any AP classes, and most graduates just go to one the local schools (UC, Xavier, Ohio State, etc.). It's not like we all go to Harvard or Yale.The one bright spot was the arts, although even there, the worst classmate I had was a fellow marching band member. But the arts programs are on par with SCPA, if you're someone who's trying to decide between those two schools.If you can't afford private school, or to move to the suburbs, regardless of all the negative stuff I wrote, you want your kid in WHHS, with the exceptions being if your child wants to go to Montessori, SPCA, or is able to get into Spencer Center. That school didn't exist when I was in high school, or else I would have gone there.

This is our first year at Riverview East Academy. My child is a 7th grader. So far, we love this place. My daughter is on the Volleyball team. The Principle, Teachers, Coaches and the Security are amazing. They have all made me, my child and my family feel welcome like we have been there for years. I also love the fact that there is a zero tolerance for Bullying and Principle Wolf and her staff make sure that the children stay safe and focused on learning. So happy to be apart of the Riverview East family.

I like the school but it’s nothing special but I still recommend.

Consider a private school if it all possible. This school is in a steady and serious decline as indicated by the various metrics found here. The school is more interested in uber left, woke culture indoctrination than it is in education. Walnut (maybe) or private school is your only hope in Cincinnati.

School with a focus on career technical education and allows students to earn credentials toward employment.

As former staff I really enjoyed the Aiken community. They have lots of programs to engage the students and meet them where they are.

Needs new leadership. Unprofessional attitude coming from the top.

At Hughes stem high school, All the kids are extremely depressed at this school. Half of the teachers do not care about the students. They don't even really teach they just give them something and expect them to know it. I really do not feel like my kid is learning or achieving anything in this school. The principal accepted to many kids and now some of the other kids cannot go to the pathway they wanted to go too. The yonder pouches are outrageous. I need to contact my kid sometimes and I cannot contact them because of the pouches, and I do not want the office to know my personal information. A lot of the kids steal, and someone stole my kids Bus card, Headphones, and Binder. My kid told me that they are even banned from the target because they stole over 10k worth of stuff. The school is dirty it has roaches and rats, I see dirt and dust everywhere, I feel as if my child is not safe here.