711 Beachcomber Ln
Houston, TX 77062

I used to go here; I'm in 12th grade now. From my experience (2020-2022), this school was just mediocre everywhere. The building was badly maintained (frequent bugs and other pests), teachers weren't very engaging, students often misbehaved and the teachers didn't seem to know how to deal with it, leading to frequent fights. The school lunches were barely edible besides the snacks, lots of equipment were old and/or damaged (art supplies, gym equipment, etc.), the schedule changed every year, and from my personal experience counselors might as well not have even been there, that's how little they did to support struggling students. I'm sure this school has a different principal by now, I just wonder if anything's changed. The overall unpleasantness of this school that I had to deal with was clearly the result of bad funding, bad staff communication, and bad management. Not a good place to send your kids.

Being a senior at this school (at the time of writing this), the best word I can use to describe this school is confused. There's a repeating message that the staff prioritizes students' education to the fullest, but to me I only see a standard and plain amount of effort in terms of education. From what I know, there's more money spent on sports than anything. To give the staff credit though, there are many AP and honors class options to choose from, I'd say the biggest flaw here is their choice in teachers. I've had a good few teachers who were visibly unmotivated for their job, dispassionate about what they taught, and/or unwilling to help students who didn't immediately understand their lessons. I'm not sure what this school's system is for hiring, but I hope it improves to weed out these types of non-teachers. On the good side, many teachers I've had were genuine, impactful, and understanding. Props to them.In terms of safety, it's honestly alright. Fights are rare, and security and staff are always quick to break up the conflict. Safety protocols are strongly enforced, so I've never personally worried about any intruders or getting attacked by any students. That being said, I am white. Emotional support is honestly debatable depending on the person and severity of the discussion. My counselor is really kind and accommodating, but others say their counselor doesn't listen or care... mixed bag, I guess.Now, my older sister went to this same school a few years ago, she's on a part of the autism spectrum that requires her to be put into the special education system... the absolute disregard for the differences in disabled children is appalling. They bunch every single type of child with varying stims and triggers onto the same bus, into the same classroom, students who scream and talk uncontrollably paired with students who become extremely panicked and overwhelmed at sound (like my sister). Not to mention, they teach every student the SAME way with the unrealistic expectation that they'll ALL be able to participate in the workforce. Some will, some won't, depending on the job they take, but that nuance is completely thrown out the window. It really feels like the system doesn't actually care to respect disabilities; they just want more cogs for the machine. I'm not sure how much control this school has over the way special education is done, but if they have any liberty at all, they REALLY need to step it up and start accounting for differing needs.

One of the worst experiences we have ever had. SpEd is completely incompetent. Child's IEP is regularly NOT followed. Teachers are dismissive, rude, and unresponsive to communication. Principal Horner is kind to your face but ineffective. Jennifer Vargas, the Special Education Team Lead, is completely useless. Horrible at her job and does not advocate for your kids or ensure they are getting their needs met. If you can move and go anywhere else you should. This school needs a complete admin and staff overhaul.