Pine Needle LN
Smithville, TX 78957

This is the worst school ever. They don't have the ability or capability to watch all the children. It is a complete chaos, my child wandered a lot alone and if it wasn't for this town being small I would have not know because the teachers didn't ever tell me. I heard from old friends that worked there or from family members picking up there kids and calling to tell me. My child also got lost this year and is now home doing home school. This district and the other two is full of discrimination. This is from my personal experience with them and as a mom; enough is enough. Think about your child foremost.

S.E.S has been very welcoming to my children after moving here from California.We have been here two years now,and my kids are thriving.I love the teachers and the friendly staff.My kids have never been happier!Very good communucation,and exactly why I moved to a small town!

I went to Smithville High School last year before moving to Austin to attend a different school. I did not feel comfortable coming back to the school during a pandemic, and at the time, they were planning to discontinue online learning for people that did not have a medical exemption. I don't have a medical issue that would have allowed me to continue online learning, but I also didn't want to expose some people in my home who were high-risk by going to school in person, so I had to find a school that had that option.The main problem that I saw during my time at SHS was that it felt like no one seemed to care that people were getting bullied constantly. I would often hear disgusting things said about the special education kids as they walked by in the hallway. There was a group of boys who would throw things at me and call my name every time I walked by. Some kid, at some point, found out that I was gay. For a while after that point, I got called the F slur to my face and in passing almost every single day. No one who saw this ever said anything to any staff members, and all that was done about these incidents (when anything was done at all) was that the kids were simply told to stop. That never worked. For a school that prides themselves on things like "integrity, compassion and respect", I feel that anyone who isn't in a close-knit friend group is going to get eaten alive. And I shouldn't have to feel that way.It's not that I expect everyone to get along; there are going to be bullies in every school. But the way that SHS handles bullying really does not do any good or make any sort of impact at all. Aside from this, SHS is overall an okay school. Despite not being a large school, it has a strong music and athletic program, a variety of electives, and extracurricular activities such a robotics and student council. A lot of the teachers that I had were very engaging and happy to help their students academically in any way they could. The school itself is easy to navigate and the classrooms are very easy to find. I just feel that, in general, SHS could work a little bit harder to make sure that every student feels safe, comfortable, and accepted when they attend. As it stands right now, that's not the case.

Teachers are shown nearly no respect, many of the classes are uncontrollable, and there is absolutely NO discpline. The school is dirty, the annex is an old barn. Bastrop Middle School is not far- go there instead if you can. I do not suggest sending your child to this school.