Ponderosa Heights

It’s a pretty dreadful school, to be honest. The principal doesn’t know what she’s doing, but to be fair, she was forced into the position by the current superintendent who is a whole other mess himself. The curricula is atrocious, and most of the teachers are just there to get a paycheck (not much else pays better in town). They don’t care about the kids, and the principal refuses to retain students, even when the data suggests it. The SPED department is full of unlicensed adults who don’t have the background to support their students. The school pushes to lower hours for SPED kids, instead of trying to give them more hours. Students are pushed to the next grade level without having met any criteria to pass their current grade. There are no benchmarks in place, and students are all expected to learn together at the same rate. COVID has impacted everything greatly, but even before the pandemic and remote learning, there were second graders who couldn’t read or tell you what sounds each letter makes. The superintendent forces his “standardized” testing on the students, but the teachers all just teach straight to that test each week. The school is abysmal, but most of the teachers don’t want to work hard or do anything to fix it. They are happy with the way things have always gone...terribly. The students are being failed by the quality of education they receive at SVP. It’s horrendous and I wish there were another option for my child. Most students are at least 2 grade levels below where they would be in other states. The district is pleased that they’re average in the state, but the state is #49 or #50 every year in the country, so how are you pleased to be average in the lowest state in the country?! It’s embarrassing and we all should want better for our children. The assistant principal is new, and she does seem to care about the students and want to help them actually reach their potential. There are endless behavior problems, and there is no support for students.