South High School

immigrant parents,especially, pay attention: The kids vape thc drugs in the bathrooms every day. the school does not supervise these areas or contact you about concerns with drug suspicions or missing assignments until it is far too late. my wife's son attended south hs for 3 years (and we had him tutored extensively at home) before we had to put him into rehab at Rogers memorial hospital due to ongoing drug use inside the school and on school grounds, totally unsupervised, of course. but how can that really go unnoticed? the administrators don't want to recognize the problem. the moment they learned he was in rehab, they changed their responses drastically, offering to try to help... it was too late of course. now my wife's son is in echieve and still can't graduate because he can no longer do simple algebra and despite having weekly tutors for years... he was doing ok with a lot of B's before starting school here... and now he will have to return to his home country, as we wont allow drugs in our house or family, and have monitored him extensively throughout, leaving only his time at school and to/from unmonitored.so if you expect the school to help you, look elsewhere if you love your child. if your kid is strong enough to resist the drug-infested bathrooms, then perhaps they'll be alright, but i suggest paying even closer attention to grades and even routine drug testing once they start going to school here.

I'm generally dissatisfied with the "forward progress" this school is making. South originally took away students phones when they were out in class or misbehaving. I think almost everyone would agree that's fair, and the policy is fine as is. However, with the implementation of a new policy, students are required to forfeit their phones in every class even if they are straight A students without a single mark on their record. If students don't have a phone, or don't put it away because they feel unsafe, they're marked absent in classes and called liars. These students are then getting sent to the office and given disciplinary actions against them... ridiculous. I myself feel unsafe putting my phone in an open caddy, since anyone can take the phones out, and we as victims of theft, are NOT allowed to get up or do anything about it. I have gotten my phone stolen from these at the start of the year, I know other people who have experienced this within the past few days of this policy being mandated too. I kept my phone in my backpack for one period and was yelled at because I, "needed to check in with administration before not bringing my phone to class" to "ensure that I'm not lying". I'd like to make it clear, I have 0 infractions, 0 referrals, 0 behavioral issues, and have never brought my phone out in this class even once. I have heard of similar issues with students who keep their phones in their lockers being marked absent because they refused to give up personal property. Since when is it efficient for students to check in with administration if they DON'T want to bring a phone to class? And with this, l'd also like to bring up the fact that now in study hall, a place that is supposed to remain quiet and be the main place to do homework, we can't use our phones and earbuds anymore. Why is this a problem? Well, they bring the special-education students into the study hall room,and it's not their fault, but they're extremely loud and distracting. When this would happen before, I'd simply put my earbuds in andtone them out so that I could study... not anymore! Every student has to listen to these students groaning and yelling for an entire hour in a place that is supposed to be quiet for homework. I'm genuinely so frustrated at the lack of support given at this school byadministration. I can't wait to get out of here, so that I can go work my job. Which also.... lets me use my phone whenever I need to aslong as work is still being done!

South is interesting for me, your Freshman year everything feels super easy and doable. I passed my Freshman year with straight A's and barely any homework... however, once you pass that introductory year, everything really picks up, and you are going to be overwhelmed, "snowballed" by assignments if you take a day off. Nobody at South is excited to learn, most students see going here as a chore, however, some teachers (primarily in the business electives) will make the classes fun. I cannot speak for everyone, but from my personal experience and after talking to a few people, there is rarely excitement when walking into a class here. Plus, the homework is atrocious and almost nobody does it anyways.The teachers are ok, some teachers are very unresponsive when it comes to sending emails, or asking for advice. Other teachers are (as It feels like) super active on email and will respond when you're up doing homework at 11pm. In most cases, teachers will email you back too late, and still not give you an extension. The counselors are mediocre, from personal experience, I always felt intimidated and put off by them; they document everything you say. I understand that it might be the norm, but it's stressing and makes you feel unwelcome. Don't open up to them...One of the great things South has going for itself, is their IEP/Special Ed program. Students are almost fully intergraded into your personal classrooms. It's great for those students with learning impairments, but not the best for other students. Often times these IEP students will be distractions in the class, while their aide's are either trying to help (and subjectively - it never helps) or being bigger distractions while trying to remove the students from the classroom.South, again, has OK safety, after the incident in 2019, we now have a police officer stationed in the school, fully armed. Despite this, at least 1 physical fight is bound to happen every day (and if you're lucky, every other). I never feel unsafe at South, but I could feel safer if more precautions were added.The only 5/5 South has is its family engagement. Although with our new principle this year, everyone was yawning at the "South Unification" presentation. Overall, many emails and updates are sent out to the parent/guardian and they have great grade updates. There are also various parent conferences that you can attend if you wish. Just, don't contact the principle if you need assistance, she will put you aside.

This school is overall very great for any type of student. The teachers are extremely helpful and allow for open and flexible learning. I don't understand the poor reviews of WSHS. The only issue I have with South is the amount of homework given to each student on a daily basis. I am a current Freshman with a 4.0 and find myself spending hours working on homework that is not formative (20% of grade) nor summative (80% of grade). Yet, the teachers relentlessly push out assignments. The mentality that some teachers have, is that they're the only class giving out homework... that's my only issue. Besides the poor homework management, I find myself truly enjoying South. I am excited to be a part of the 2025 graduates.

It is a pretty bad school, would not ever recommend it.