Hartselle High School

I graduated two years ago, and I must say, Hartselle High School is amazing. It is cliquey. However, I moved here my 9th grade year and fit in immediately, and I never played a sport or joined a club. I have seen parents and teachers come together to help poor families with their own money. Great community! I wish I could say Hartselle wasn't obsessed with sports but this is true. Other activities are promoted just as much, though. I am referring to the way sport players get out of trouble. When students are caught distributing drugs at school, they shouldn't be able to play sports again. However, there is not have a drug problem. That was one incident. Anyways, the teachers are all great. I was challenged academically and I excel in college. It is easy to be involved at this school. My kids will attend Hartselle High.
—Submitted by a student

As a parent of 3 that have attended HHS, I am very pleased at the education & support that they have received. My oldest is a Sr. in College, my middle child is a Soph. in College and my youngest is about to graduate HHS. All three have had GPA's of 3.5 - 4.0 during highschool and the ones in college still maintain their GPA's and I feel alot of that is due to the education they received at HHS. The reason we moved here when relocating was because of the school system. I am so glad we did. Our children has excelled not only academically but in extra activities such a cheerleading, chorus, and Performers. I am thankful for this school system for preparing my children for LIFE.
—Submitted by a parent

I have 2 boys who have been in the Hartselle school system since 1998 and my two boys have nothing but positive opinions of their experiences here. Sports is a big deal here, but there is nothing wrong with school spirit, a competitve attitude, and a deep and supportive pride from the community in it's academic and athletic programs. It should be that way because, as I see it, there's something wrong if those elements aren't there. Academics are just as important to the school system here as the athletics are, and if they weren't this system wouldn't rank so highly on an annual basis. The Hartselle system has long had a remarkable reputation for academic excellence, and that is why I put my child in this system from day one of their first grade year. Thanks to this school system, my boys will be well prepared for college, and life.
—Submitted by a parent

I have a child that is in the 9th grade at Hartselle High. I feel the same as some of the other parents. Sports is a huge issue. However that is not the reason I chose to send my two to the school system. I have one child in Band and the other has been involved in sports and may be again this coming year. But the reason I chose to send my children to Hartselle was because of the low incidence rate of children's bad behavior. I didn't want my children having to go to school and deal with bullies on a daily basis. However, I did read in the paper that the incidence of misconduct is on the rise. I hope the school is doing something to reduce that.
—Submitted by a parent

I read so much about 'if you are not a jock, you have nothing in Hartselle'. Is the school flawless, of course not. But it has much more to offer students in academics, support, parent involvment, and yes sports than other schools in the area. I was a Police Officer in the city next door to Hartselle and worked directly with the SRO's and school system for several years. We moved and put our two son's in Hartselle. The best move we could have made for them. Yes they both enjoy sports (wrestling). The oldest obtain a scholarship to wrestle. Look past the 'sports' problem and know that Hartselle is far better off in so many ways than other schools.
—Submitted by a parent

If your child is involved in sports then this is the school for you but if you are most interested academics, then go to another school. It's so political that you can't get a decent education....
—Submitted by a parent

If your kid is a 'jock', by all means, send him or her to this school. If not, then we would definitely recommend you find another school. Hartselle is all about sports and who you know. You can meet with a teacher to discuss a problem, but don't expect any follow through. After numerous meetings with the faculty that went absolutely nowhere, we finally gave up. If we had known then, what we know now, we would never have sent our child to Hartselle.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a wonderful school! I am very pleased with all of Hartselle School!
—Submitted by a parent

Hartselle is an amazing school. I'm about to complete my M.S. degree in geology at Auburn and I believe that I had one of the best educations possible while attending Hartselle High. If it weren't for the constant battery of grammar, mathematics, biology, and other subjects, which weren't easy by any means, I wouldn't have been able to excel in my classes in college. Though sports play a major role at Hartselle, as they do in most high schools, they aren't the reason a person is in school. Parents should emphasize academics, not sports. In the long run, no one outside of high school will care if you were a starter. They will care if you can't write a complete sentence or be able to communicate with any sophistication. Having taught over 800 students from all around, every student from Hartselle has stood head and shoulders above the rest.
—Submitted by a former student

Hartselle is an amazing school- and I don't play sports!! I am involved in the Performers, a show choir that travels all over the world. Last year we went to St. Augustine, Fl. The year before- Austria. Hartselle is a wealth of opportunity for students. I feel that I am fully prepared to attend the university of my choice, and I am thankful that our counselors have made scholorship opportunities so readily available. Hartselle is saturated with baseball, football, and softball players, but I feel that this only enhances our schools diversity. Last week our band and chorus received superior ratings at state-level competition! Our wrestlers are state champions, and our football team won 3 rounds in the state playoffs! Acedemically, we rank number 3 in the state! There is much to be said for a school with such accomplishemnts!
—Submitted by a student

It think hartselle is an ok school.
—Submitted by a former student

Good academics, great extracurricular activities.
—Submitted by a parent

My child has been a student in hartselle for 8 years.. It appears that no matter how good at atheletics you are, your ability to make any team depends on who you are, who your parents are, where you live, where you work and any city apppointed position you may have... Rather than ability or talent which doesn't count for much. Any child not fitting the 'social' description with the 'qualifications' that are set by the social status, can forget any hope of making the team..When a teacher would rather 'hand' pick a student to be on a team that did not try out for a postition on the particular team as opposed to allowing the remaing people that did participate in tryouts every day and did not make the team to fill an open spot something is wrong with the picture.
—Submitted by a parent

I'am moving my child out of Hartselle because if you don't play a sport you don't have anything to look foward to. They don't prepare you for the future. Thing such as auto machanics are needed for everyone. If you don't have money or your child isn't a football star or a baseball star or wrestlinf or cheerleader or softball they aren't nothing.
—Submitted by a parent