Mathews
Spring Arbor, MI 49283

I love this school. My children thrived and looked forward to school everyday!! Wonderful teachers and atmosphere. A+++

My daughter's went here from k-5 and my son so far k-2 it's an amazing school

It is one of the better schools in the area. It does have a strong influence from the local university.Mr Gilpin knows almost every student by name. By the time a student student enters the second grade, they will know every adult in the building. Most of the children are very well behaved and knows the rules. The 19:1 ratio is a bit deceptive since most of the lower grades have two adults in the classroom. The presence of male role models is a plus. Last year, I counted six different men.

All in all, Western is all about what your last name is, who you know in the district, and how far your reputation can get you.Academics: The curriculum does not prepare students for university-level education after graduation. The AP courses slightly do, but there are limited spots in the classes and the teachers are punished for showing extra care for their students' all-around success.Student Support: The counseling department is severely understaffed. Students rarely get the resources they need. There is no time made for the students that are not failing their classes who need general guidance regarding their class schedules, success planning, and even mental health. You have to be on the brink of expulsion or in need of social work to have an appointment made.Sports: Favoritism. You can't succeed in sports at Western High School unless you're somehow related or have a close relationship with the athletic department/coaching staff. Even if your child can play just as well, or even better than the "big wigs" of the district, they won't get a fair chance or will be discouraged from even trying.Teaching Staff: There are only a handful of teachers within this district that actually care about their students' performance and well-being. With the lack of guidance from the counseling department, the handful of good teachers tend to fill in the holes and provide those resources. However, those teachers' job security is threatened if they actually care about their students' academic performance and well-being (mental and physical). They are required to lock their doors during lunch hours and are not allowed to see students at the end of the school day. According to their superiors, the job of a teacher at Western is to give a lecture, dismiss the class, send someone to the in-school suspension room if they are disruptive, and repeat until the end of the workday. The majority of teachers at Western are cold, demeaning, and unhelpful to their students.Disciple: Western loves to disciple, their favorite ways are 1) humiliation of students (specifically for minor dress code violations), 2) in-school suspension (for just about everything), and 3) after school suspension. They believe taking students out of their classes for an entire day, or even week is helpful to their performance and will fix all of the issues within the school.

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