Skyline High School

When I first started coming to Skyline, I was disappointed. I couldn't believe it was ranked 3rd. I must disclaim this by saying my opinion may have been affected by my previous experience at a private school. Regardless of that, all the good intentions and hardworking nature that they say is a part of Skyline is a total misrepresentation. Half of my teachers have been simply not good; they were unnecessary, didn't teach me anything, the class just felt like a waste of time, etc. What's more, they don't have recycling and don't spread any sort of sustainability motive, I mean truly. While they have a good earth club, the administration definitely does not care about the environment, which should be quite important given what's going on with Utah, particularly with water usage and air quality. I emailed the principal and superintendent both in regards to recycling, and offered to play a role however I could in helping make it happen, whether that was fundraising or whatever, even if that sounds presumptuous, I was desperate. Anyway I hate it here

My son, 2 nephews, and my niece attended Skyline. They all had an excellent experience. They took advantage of the many AP classes, and felt it helped them to transition to college. One of the things I like about Skyline is a lack of "gatekeeper" policies. Any student can take any AP or IB course if they wish. My son was a B average student, but he took several AP classes and really enjoyed them. The school didn't seem to have many discipline issues, and most of the students appeared to be focused on college and their future. He had a couple of teachers who weren't very good, but most of them were skilled, caring educators.

This was a difficult year made only more difficult by the lack of compassion and poor communication by a few faculty (psychology and world history faculty to be exact). Our daughter's 10th grade "remote" experience would have turned out differently - in a good way - if not for two "educators" who care more about deadlines than the needs of their students especially in a pandemic year.

I LOVE going to school at Skyline, both the students and faculty are so kind and caring.

This school is a mixed bag. Several things make us very happy, but can often be outweighed by problems. Principal Bingham is a wonderful man, whom the kids know and love. He's exceptional at supporting the students and teachers. It's been difficult to see how Granite School District cripples this school. They make it extremely difficult for teachers to book educational trips for students—which often foster a better learning environment than textbook learning—yet travel for sports is always available. They are also forcing schools in the district to go to a proficiency-based system where homework doesn't count—grades will be based on assessments. How the assessments are scored makes no sense because it's not basic percentages, which gives parents NO TRANSPARENCY into how a child is really doing—scoring is based on computer algorithms—some tests are worth more than others, but parents never know which ones. It removes the parents from their child's education. There are definitely exceptional departments/programs, the problem is that they either seem to be exceptional or horrible. The English and History departments, as well as the ASL, Choir, and Orchestra programs are exceptional. The Math, Science, Theater and Dance departments are NOT good at all. The Theater department is one of the worst I have seen. Only the handful of favorites are given lead parts in plays—same people year after year—others are rarely given opportunities for growth. The Theater department fosters an unkind and bullying environment. The AP teachers at this school are very hit and miss. We only allow our kids to take half of the AP classes because of this. Another BIG problem... the school is going to be torn down/rebuilt in Fall 2020—happening in stages. The kids will use some of the old buildings as they build the new parts for the next 4-6 years. Right now, there is so much contention in the community about this school because of the talk of the new building being more of an open-space plan with collaborative areas partitioned with only glass walls, teachers will not have their own classrooms and they will only have a small cubicle. Several of the best teachers have decided to quit or retire if this design is implemented. I wouldn't recommend this school or any in the Granite District right now—a few years ago, I would have. :(