Sparkman High School

Sparkman... in a word? Rollercoaster. teachers are off and on about how well they cover certain curriculum and its been my experiance for a teacher to tell us to "teach" ourselves certain chapters in Chemistry. Also as a medical student ive enjoyed visiting the hospital but my teachers have been consistenly uncooperative in commuinication and helping me excel as a student. I enjoy all my friends i have made here but one thing is for certain, if teachers would work harder to push students and help them excel in areas that they enjoy then this would be a top noched school. WOULD being the key word. So any teachers reading this, help your students and be understanding towards them as this makes all the difference in the world.
—Submitted by a student

if you don't mine the all the people its a great school the teachers a great too.
—Submitted by a student

i am currently a student at sparkman high school and the administraters are very understanding and the teachers are the best uit may be a bit crowded but i get the best education possible sparkman rocks
—Submitted by a student

coming from out of state, very happy with quality of education, not concerned about the size afterall my kids will likely attend large colleges, their high school experience will only benefit them, from our experience nationwide SHS JROTC is one of the best in the country.
—Submitted by a parent

Sparkman High School is one of the best schools i have been too. our principal is strict, but not overbearing. That strictness is in place to keep us safe. We have had bad situations in the past which has given the school an undeserved bad reputation. I feel very safe at Sparkman. While we do struggle with overcrowding, I feel that the teachers do the best they can with severely limited resources. I'm taking all AP classes, and I am perfectly happy with the education I am receiving. A lot of the times at Sparkman it is not the teacher's fault that a child is doing badly, it is the student's. All of the teachers at Sparkman are phenomenal.
—Submitted by a student

Sparkman us a great school some of the 9th grade teachers are not the best and like all schools we have some troubled kids and also some times the administraters are not the best but the one thing that keeps everyone in line is the JROTC instructors like 1st sergent(ret) jones and Lt col Cunningham (ret) master sergent Taylor also help because they looked out for the students there and sometimes they have a better control over the school then the administraters this is why the JROTC is some of the best in the country and if you say that programs like this is a waste of funds then you have disrespected the protectors of freedom master sergent recently came out of retirment to defend your freedoms and that is both a good teacher and leader
—Submitted by a student

My children have been educated around the world at schools that have been tops internationally. We moved to Alabama 2 years ago, and overall, have been very happy with Sparkman and the quality of teachers and quality of education available. I do think the school is too large - and the county is trying to handle that problem now by building a new school and considering rezoning. Bottom line - there are "policies" that I don't agree with and have asked the school to consider changing (with no luck) - but overall it is a good safe school that will prepare students for their future.
—Submitted by a parent

i totaly disagree with all of the negiative comments about my school. i am in the 11th grade and we are a very good school. my class alone has made 97 out of the possible 100 on the graduation exams. yes we are very overcrowed to the point where you have to use shortcuts but i does not take away from the education given in the class rooms. as a student i am overwhelmed with the amount of cousre opprutinities at shs. the lack of fundding is a problem but not a huge one. i am glad that i am going to sparkman and i do know that i am getting one of the best educations in alabama as well as in the u.s.
—Submitted by a student

It was a bit of a shock coming to this area of the country. SHS teachers try their best, but spend most of their time dealing with lack of funding and reviewing material to get the kids to pass the Alabama State Graduationa exams. If you play football or are a cheerleader you have it made. Most students will find it difficult to attend college out of state and to compete with the average high school student from other parts of the country for out of state colleges. The band is a big dissapointment for my children. Perhaps the music departments should concentrate on taking their students to competitions that will test their abilities instead of vacations to Florida that result in all participants receiving superior marks for showing up.
—Submitted by a parent

The administration and staff work to make Sparkman High School a competitive school academically. Students are being prepared for college.
—Submitted by a parent

I rate Sparkman above average, because it (mostly) does the best it can with the situation given it. Of the schools in the Madison County School System, I do belive the best education is gotten at SHS. My main problem is the Sparkman 9th Grade School's realtionship with SHS. S9GS has clubs (ex. Beta Club) that aren't offered at SHS but are offered at most of the other high schools in the state.
—Submitted by a student

I think the school administration could do a better job with certain things. Like one user said if you are not a football or cheerleader you do not matter. I believe that to be only true with the administrators. I play soccer at SHS and we are cut back on things we need for a better soccer season because most of the money that goes into sports is used up by football and cheerleading
—Submitted by a student

I am a current junior here at Sparkman High School and I completely disagree with the negative comments submitted mainly by the parents. I do not understand how some of these parents complain about the system here at Sparkman when they have not attended nor spent a day here in order to find out. Yes, Sparkman has a few problems; we are overcrowded, there are a few students who have disciplinary problems, and there are a few teachers who probably do not care. These are typical problems of a high school and to say that Sparkman has gone from bad to worse is just plain ridiculous.
—Submitted by a student

This is my current high school, and I absolutely love it. It has an amazing marching band, of which i am a member. I enjoy coming to school each day, and i love being a Senator!
—Submitted by a student

My daughter is a 10th grader and loves her school. There are not any issues that she has faced. The teachers appear concerned and are well aware of the needs of the college bound kids.
—Submitted by a parent

Sparkman has much to offer in terms of academics, extra-curricular activities, and yes, athletics.
—Submitted by a former student

This school has gone from bad to worse. There are some very good teachers but the discipline issues continue to spoil the learning environment.
—Submitted by a parent

The Sparkman High School its a highly recommand to a learning education. I give a 10 as a rating. Thank you.
—Submitted by a student

I respect your opinion, but i disagree with you greatly on such a thing as the choir. I personally believe that the choir is among the best in this state. If the choir was so low in standards, then why were they invited to sing in Carnegie Hall in New York City. That's not such an easy thing to do.
—Submitted by a student

Academia & other activities such as chorus & languages is at the bottom. The Middle school does not offer either. I believe the teachers try. It's difficult for the graduates of SHS to compete for colleges out of Alabama and difficult to get teachers from outside of Alabama to teach in our district. Until more parents are willing to get involved and demand change, it's still status quo.
—Submitted by a parent