Braden Pines

Pretty good school so far. No complaints

I am a grandparent who visits regularly, often on Fridays when you can attend for lunch with a child. This school has a broad spectrum of students, with an experienced faculty. Thus far, my grandson seems to have benefitted from that faculty and the general atmosphere which seems in all respects to be caring, respectful and responsible. I have witnessed no bullying or other negative behavior during lunch time, children seem to interact freely and in a very friendly and accepting matter, and there is always someone watching over them. Teaching is an exhausting job, and I appreciate the effort involved. The support staff is also uniformly friendly and respectful to both adults and children. Overall, I would as a retired professional give this school good marks. I have seen nothing significant which would raise any red flags. I have no experience with special education or special needs, but the physical needs of students seem to be met.

We moved from Missouri to Lakewood Ranch 3 years ago, as my daughter was entering sophomore year of high school. We though Lakewood Ranch High School was a good choice, but we were so wrong. Avoid sending your kids here!! My daughter absolutely hated this school. The teachers did not care if she learned or not and were unwilling to help her outside of school hours. The worst part about my daughter's experience at this school was her counselor. My daughter excelled in school with all A's or B's, but had horrible testing anxiety. We discussed this issue with her counselor and asked her what help was available to her. Her counselor advised us not to pursue testing accommodations due to her good grades and passing all of her standardized tests. She said most likely she will not be given any accommodations. My daughter decided to enroll in their dual enrollment/ early college program just so she didn't have to go into the school anymore. That program through SCF was a perfect fit. My daughter was able to fight for herself and what she needed and went directly to the college, bypassing Lakewood Ranch High school, and received testing accommodations for her severe anxiety. This high school, in my opinion and my daughter's, do not care about their students. Their website might look pretty, and they may flash fancy numbers and statistics, but rest assured they do not go above and beyond to support their students and give them the help they need to succeed. Many times, my daughter would reach out to her counselor and would get no reply or very short and rude answers, like she was an inconvenience to them. I would only go to this school if you can get your student into the dual enrollment/early college program, where Lakewood Ranch High School basically pays for your student to get college credit. Otherwise, I would never recommend this school to anyone.

The best and coolest principal!! My kids love this school.