37 Thread Ln
Johnson City, TN 37604

Overall, Science Hill is a pretty good school, arguably the best in the area. They have a lot of different opportunities and very diversified academic paths and clubs. You can definitely tell that most teachers really care and want to give you the best education possible. Their AP and Honors classes are very good, rigorous, and can really help prep you for college (although that also depends on the teacher). They also cover the cost of AP exams if you take the class, which is quite helpful. (I personally chose the AP route, but you can also do DE.) They also offer a wide variety of clubs & extracurriculars, so it’s pretty easy to find something you’re interested in. And if you can’t, you can always start your own. Their facilities have improved a lot since I started, and they have done a lot of renovations in recent years (science labs/classrooms, bathrooms, safety, etc.)That being said, SHHS also has it’s faults. They place heavy emphasis on their CTE classes and athletics. They focus’s excessively on their recognition of athletics and don’t do a very good job at recognizing academic achievements. Their recognition is rather selective and subpar at best. Counselors are hit or miss, and mine wasn’t very helpful. There were several times Sr. year where I’d stop by to ask him a question and he either wasn’t there or wouldn’t know, and I had to ask my former counselor. A lot of my questions were also time-sensitive, so it’s not like I could just wait several days. The NiswongerCARE meeting (mandatory FAFSA/aid meeting) was rather useless, and I - personally - found it pointless.Furthermore, while they’ve been heavily stressing safety in recent years, it’s still rather flawed. The hallways are too small to accommodate the 2200+ students (overcrowding is an issue), and despite the I.D. crazy staff and hall monitors, it’s easy for anyone with enough basic knowledge of the school and it’s safety precautions to bypass that. Communication is also lacking, and has been for years. It was especially lacking my first 2 years, and - hiring someone just to improve communications has only somewhat helped.All in all, I’ve learned a lot over my 4 years, grown more independent, seen both the good and the bad of such a large school. Despite its flaws, I would still choose SHHS over the other schools in the area, and I strongly believe that it has the potential to make college a lot easier (I can earn a double major in 4 yrs).

For such a small run down school, many of the staff here surprisingly have their noses so high up I thought I mistakenly enrolled my kids into an Ivy League school of some sort! They don't address bullying, and in some of their words and actions there are hints of racism. Not all of course, there are many great staff there. But I'm not gonna name names, the ones I'm describing knows who they are. Parents don't have a voice here unless you're part of their circle. If you're from out of town or look different from them, I would stay away from this school. Have talked to many other locals in the area that moved here from out of state, and every other elementary school in the area doesn't have the same reputation.

So far the teachers I've had have always been super sweet and kind. They're very lenient on pretty much everything from missing work to due dates for slips to dress code. They have many advanced classes like pre algebra, algebra, and honors English. Everyone there is respectful and pretty goody-goody. The school is very supportive of special needs and disabilites!