Oak Mountain High School

The only thing that makes this school bearable are my friends and a few teachers. The administration is ridiculous and have always seemed biased to me... Really, the Shelby County Board of Education is riduculous. Alternative school for using a cell phone 3 times? That's logical. A student likes to text so you're going to send them to a place where kids are punished for things like underage drinking and drug use? It's overkill. I will say the academics are great, but can be inconsistent at times. The administrators are rude, condescending, sarcastic, and even dowright hateful at times. They pick favorites; nothing is fair about it. I've been in three different school systems, and though Oak Mountain surpasses the other two academically, this school has the worst clique problem I've ever seen.
--Submitted by a student

I am a current student. I love OMHS. I constantly learn new things. Of course there are teachers who are not up to par, but what school doesn't have that problem. Every teacher I've ever had has been amazing. I suppose I'm just very fortunate. We do not have social group issues.. I don't know how to say it other than that. We are all friends, seriously. My one major issue with our school is that if you're involved in band or theatre, don't hope for much recognition. It's absolutely terrible. We have such talented students involved in the Fine Arts programs and none of it can be recognized because all of the attention is going toward athletics. Overall a very great school.
--Submitted by a student

I am a graduate of the school, and it was possibly the worst four years of my life. I go to one of the best colleges in the southeast, and I feel like I was properly educated, but I also feel like some things were left behind. There is also no unity in the school. Despite the fact that I graduated with a GPA above a 4.0, I always felt like whether or not my shirt was tucked in was of more importance than the fact that I was fifth in my class, participated in many extracurricular activities, and got into a first rate college on scholarship.

OMHS is interesting because it is very strong in certain respects, but just mediocre in others. Strengths- The challenging courses (AP, honors) have very, very good teachers. The college preparation could not be better (awesome college counselors and top tier AP scores) Weaknesses- The regular classes can lack challenge and offer little chance of improvement. I have also encountered that school administrators are a little too concerned with test scores, and teachers are worked too hard (1 teacher- 130+ students...) Overall very good, just needs to get and keep good teachers.

I'm a student at OMHS right now. Our school's faculty is amazing, I mean the majority of the teachers are great people and educators. My main problem is our school has HUGE social division problems. I'm not going to say that our school is full of 'bullies' but the majority of the kids there are rich and if you aren't you are singled out. It's nt not a bad school, just one with some social problems. But hey, thats highschool.
--Submitted by a student

OMHS is great if you are lucky enough to have a parent that is involved. For those students everything goes great. For everyone else the school is average
--Submitted by a former student

I am a graduate of Oak Mtn., and I feel that it more than prepared me for a successful future. The counselors are actively involved in preparing students for college. The teachers go beyond challenging and provide difficult yet realistic learning opportunities. There is a huge social disconnect, but that's not what's important. I don't care that my principal cared about image. I was well-educated, and realistically image is everything in today's competitive job market.
--Submitted by a former student

OMHS has disappointed us for the challenged teen and the average teen. Prior area schools motivated and educated all but at Hs these two types got lost and ignored. My average teen got through it and never wants to go back after his experience there. My other child had to leave the school to try and get her back on track. The special ed in this HS is awful. This school lost so many great kids from involvement and achieving that could have participated more with a little push and interest coming from the staff. It is a good school for some but would never be a great school for most.Needs work
--Submitted by a parent

OMHS is a wonderful school. The teachers and especially the principal go out of their way to make sure the students are successful and prepared for the future. I have been very impressed with the parental involvement and the way the principal and administration go about running the school and pushing students to excel. My daughter thought it was tough, but she was better prepared for college. Her friends that attended other local high are having a much harder time in their college classes because they were not pushed to learn and excel academically. I would recommend this school to anyone and am proud to say that my children are a part of the Oak Mountain schools.
--Submitted by a parent

As an employee of OMHS and the parent of an enrolled student, I feel that the overall quality of the school is mediocre. Way too much emphasis on athletics. One full week of homecoming activities and no academics?? Absurd but true. A large number of the teachers do not seem to have a true heart for teaching. overall attitude of apathy that reaches from the student body to the staff and back again.
--Submitted by a staff