Cooley Brg
Pelzer, SC 29669

We love Ellen Woodside!! The school has fantastic teachers! It feels like family

For a school with over 2,200 students and incoming classes approaching 600, you would expect far more resources and opportunities. Instead, the school feels stretched thin. Club options are limited, and many disappear within a year due to lack of staff support, funding, or sponsorship. Even strong, high-achieving departments, like Fine Arts and Agriculture, are consistently underfunded while the budget is spent on things that don’t benefit students.Some teachers and counseling staff are unsupportive, dismissive, or unwilling to listen. A few seem more interested in handing out referrals than having real conversations, which is ironic given the environment they’re supposed to foster. In the real world, a proper conversation goes a long way in building strong relationships and communication skills instead of a piece of paper. The school often feels more focused on boosting passage rates than providing a meaningful education. Many students, myself included, feel pressured to succeed to the point where grades seem to define our entire worth. Mental health resources are almost nonexistent, and there’s little acknowledgment of how personal circumstances affect academic performance. The front desk people are always rude and curt. Even among staff, there seems to be a lack of communication. Students are often faced with, "well I was always told..." or "I didn't know about..." or "We weren't told..." which suggests that there is not only a lack of communication and understanding between teachers and students, but faculty. Grade inflation is common. Teachers round up scores or give out “free 100s” to make themselves and the schools look better, while students walk away having learned very little. The school also offers very few practical, real-world classes like personal finance or home economics, which are basic life skills every student should have access to.The cafeteria is another issue. Food is sometimes expired, milk and cereal included. Yogurt is served half-frozen, buns have shown mold, and the burgers are excessively greasy. School spirit is also lacking and feels forced. At sports games, there is really no enthusiasm in the student section. The school doesn't promote or encourage attendance at the lesser sports, either. It feels like the school wants to be a “coming-of-age 2000s movie” setting, but it misses the mark completely. Overall, if you want a positive, supportive, and enriching high school experience, you’re better off looking elsewhere.

We moved from IL and enrolled my son to Woodmont Middle. Great staff. All his peers seem informed and curious. Supportive staff. School has great programs at every level to help those in needs. They partnered with Michelin and Duke. Does decently in band and sports as wellHappy with the school so far