Cleveland Heights High School

Both of my daughters attended school in the CHUH school district. These are excellent schools. Not good. Excellent. My children were given the opportunity to excel academically, and did so: both went on to attended universities with strong national reputations. They took many AP credits with them. In addition to the excellence in the usual academic subjects, the CHUH schools excel in the arts. There is a vocal music program that puts on an annual show that you actually want to go see, not merely suffer through because your kid is in it. The instrumental music department inspired my first daughter to become a music teacher herself. Again, the concert performances are genuinely good, not something to be suffered through. First time parents always express surprise that the concerts were pleasant to listen to. My younger daughter excelled in the visual arts department, with many of her pieces placed in public exhibits where they won a variety of awards. Many of these successes are directly attributable to the high quality of education my children received. I can only wish that I had attended such high quality schools myself as a child. More generally, now speaking as a college professor rather than as a parent, graduates of CHUH are well prepared for college. They do as well or better as students from many private schools. Locally, CHUH is equal or superior to most private schools (e.g., Hathaway Brown). Only Laurel is clearly superior. If you cannot afford that, you would be wasting money to send your children to any other private school in the area. The numerical rating on this website is generated from statistical information that is known to be inherently racist. It basically measures the socio-economic status of the community. CHUH is a mixed community, with both rich and poor residents. Many of the richer residents fear the misleading numerical score and send their children to private school, thus making it a self-fulfilling prophecy. If they all sent their children to the public schools, the score would jump from 2 to 8. This is entirely predictable based on socio-economics. To reiterate: the numerical score measures the socio-economic status of the students it serves. It does not reflect the quality of what the schools do in any meaningful way. (Lies, damned lies, and statistics.) The schools themselves offer an excellent education.

I am currently a sophomore going into my junior year here at Heights. Most of theses reviews were created at what is considered the "old" Heights high building, so my experience is a little different. In my class of 2k18, we are the only group of students who get to attend the old heights for a year, stay at Wiley for 2 years, and graduate from the new heights senior year, and that experience is kind of to much, especially transportation wise. You would think since we have to travel somewhere different that they would give us more time to attend school, or a bus for the kids a little father, but instead, they expect you to be their 10 mins earlier with NO bus services what so ever. This is just one of the many things that make Heights frustrating

My daughter is a junior and has had a terrific, positive experience and wonderful education. AP classes and world class music programs are just part of what the school is about. All the students are treated as individuals which is refreshing at a large high school. The socio economic, religious, racial and ethnic diversity is well integrated and benefits everyone. Its curious how negative some reviews can be. My daughter has a 3.75 GPA and has many opportunities for participation in groups, clubs, arts and more. I am very glad we chose public education and I recommend Cleveland Heights schools for parents interested in a good education in a strong, supportive, progressive community that welcomes everyone.

All three of my children are proud public school students. Two have graduated from Heights and are doing well. They are devoted alum who will tell you unequivocally that they loved the place. I'll be honest, I'm white and I've had my worries about sending my kids to these schools, but none of these fears has ever been realized. My children have worked hard and surrounded themselves with likewise friends, black and white, and, in that respect, the whole experience has been more or less the same as it would have been anywhere else. THAT is the reality. It isn't gangs. It isn't crime. It's high school. The really great thing is that not only have my children had great academic training they have learned a lot about the world that majority white schools will never be able to teach. In my opinion this is an educational opportunity that should not be passed up. I dream of a school that is racially balanced like the overall population of our city, but unfortunately, for reasons I can't explain, many people won't let themselves believe in that dream. Too bad for all of us.

When I read some of the negative comments here, I wonder what kind of high school these people went to. Was it perfect? Mine wasn't, nor is Heights. But I got a very good education and so is my daughter. Gang fights? Hardly. Do you even know what a gang fight is? There are fights sometimes and there are discipline problems, but there are no "gang fights," and no "guns in the school"--as many people in the area think. A kid had a gun in the parking lot, he was not a student, and security immediately identified the problem and got him off the school property. Anyway, my daughter feels safe there and has loved most of her classes. I guess if you never had a class you didn't think was good in high school, then Heights is not for your kids. If you want reality, and great teachers overall, it is. I am white and I also know that a lot of whites stay away from Heights because it is mostly black (people have actually said this to me); well, that is racist. Too bad for you and your kids.