330 E 34th Ave
Eugene, OR 97405

It's fine. They seem to have low expectations of their students academically. Most of my daughter's sixth grade work is more on the level with the end of fourth grade/beginner fifth grade. The school secretary is pervasively sexist and rather rude, which is the exact opposite of the example they say they send and in stark contrast to what they expect from their students. They serve unhealthy food for lunch and their gym teacher is a joke: from what I understand they spend the majority of the class receiving directions, waiting for all students to comply, and waiting a turn to kick a ball, which doesn't always happen. The sixth grade Language Arts teacher is amazing. She's spot on with somewhat challenging curriculum and holds the students accountable. She brings in current events and is a true role model. Also, there is no dress code; the lack of micromanaging is a huge plus. They do try to give students what independence they can to foster a greater sense of responsibility.

While initially excited about South's IHS program due to my own personal interest in challenging learning and work, this program has proved to be nothing more than a waste of time. They stack piles of meaningless drivel purely to keep students busy. The only point of the program is to create "overachievers", which while that can be a good mindset in some situations, they push it too far. The amount of students who drop out of IHS every year is astounding to say the least. And that is just the IHS program. I have been here three years, and yet I have learned absolutely nothing. The classes are a waste of time. The school acts like it is meant to inspire growth and creativity, yet will have you reading the same kind of books every year, or teaching the same concepts about fractions and decimals. They preach about supporting students' mental health, yet if you are gone for even one day, whether it be for sickness or a family emergency, your grades will drop significantly. Questions are seemingly encouraged, yet when you ask, either the student body judges you, or the teachers ridicule you and tell you to pay better attention. I may not have an IEP or 504, but many of my friends have them. While there are a few teachers who happily respect them, many do not, and will oft harass you for even having them, saying they are pointless. This school is somehow number two in Oregon, yet when in 2023, my second year, there was not one, but three bomb threats, and one shooting threat. While that is not the school's fault, how they handled it is. Their bright idea to make the students feel safe was to not only keep them uniformed for most of it, but to send the students en masse outside which easily could've put them in greater danger. Even worse, they forced students to stay for hours in the heat without water, food, or bathroom access. They were not allowed to leave the premises until many hours later, and could not grab their things they had to leave in the building, which included things like live saving medication and phones. The food is also a safety concern. Not only has mold been found on it numerous times, but many people have gotten food poisoning. On top of that, vegetarian students are at a major disadvantage. The lines are so long, that unless you leave class early to get in line, you will likely not get lunch that day, and not everyone has the financial stability to pack a lunch. The "education" here is pointless, and it is not a healthy space for students.

This school is very good about art based project learning. That being said everything at this school is about forced diversity. It doesnt seem like they can have one project that doesnt focus on it. My daughter is getting angry about having it forced down her throat all the time and I dont think anyone there has properly thought out the pendulum swing to that style of forced assimilation. This school seems more focused on it's own politics rather than a real quality education. A good example is they were all made to do a walk protest where they were protesting for black civil rights. I dont understand why one wouldnt go into teaching peaceful protest by first teaching history in several areas of injustice and then teach a bit about politics and then let the children choose their own politics to march about. Not making them protest for something they are just beginning to understand. That is just the school pushing for the agenda they view as correct. Also maybe I'm wrong on this but I dont believe sexuality needs to be taught in 3rd grade. My daughter came home saying she thought transgender people were weird, and I asked where she learned that and she said they told her about it at school, and boy howdy did they apparently botched the job on that. Beginning of middle school I totally understand, but 3rd freaking grade. Silly. Something also that I should have at least been informed that was going to be a thing. We have two transgendered family members and "transgenders seem weird" is not the way I wanted her to come out thinking about it. They do have a good handle on teaching art, I just wish their art focus would be more than one type of injustice.