Combs High School

We have moved our child because of the poor standards this school has. Kids miss lunch because of the long lines, problems on campus are handled by the janitor not the security or teachers (which I have personally seen turn and walk away ignoring a fist fight), athletic teams do not work as a team but as individuals, principal is not "present" on campus and rarely seen in congregated areas, like the cafeteria or in classrooms, and parent involvement is almost non-existent. There are a few dedicated teachers on campus who are struggling under poor leadership and there is little to no accountability about the safety of the teaching staff or students by the leadership or the district itself- this is alarming. I m not aware of the situation", seems to be the rehearsed line. There is not proper supervision of the student body and students are getting hurt. Personally I would not expect my child to be patient and wait until this school decides to get their act together.
--Submitted by a parent

We have moved our child because of the poor standards this school has. There are kids who do not get to eat lunch because of the long lines and the staff does not seem to care. if there are problems on campus the janitor is the one to handle instead of security or teachers. The athletic teams do not work as a team, they are more like individuals than anything.
--Submitted by a parent

Strong leadership & setting a good example would be a good start. the principal is not "present" on campus. Rarely seen in congregated areas, like the cafeteria or in classrooms. Parent invlolvement is most definetely a huge factor in a student's success. Not blaming teachers, they are a few dedicated on campus. What I'm saying is that they are struggling under poor leadership. Have called & interacted with the Principal & distrcit. The lack of concern & accountability about the safety of the students is alarming. " I'm not aware of the situation", seems to be the the excuse. A student had his head pounded into the concrete after school on campus, was left with a bruise on his brain. This should have never elevated to that degree, had there been proper supervision. There was not a staff member in sight. Don't think it's wise to ask your child to wait until this school decides to get their act together.
--Submitted by a parent

We moved into Combs back in Sept. There are the normal grumblings of things I don't like, but that's going to happen at ANY high school. The big thing for me is communication - Combs HAS to get better at sharing information via the web, phone calls, newsletters - whatever. Just let us know what's going on!! I know that they now have a FB page www.facebook.com/combscoyotes - so that s a start! What I can't stand is the true lack of parental involvement. This is our children's high school experience... why are these parents simply being bystanders?! We have the power to get involved and make these four years productive and fun! We also need to get the community to believe in Combs!
--Submitted by a parent

Combs high is probably the best high school I've had the pleasure, and displeasure, of going too. It has it's ups and downs, but what school doesn't? We're still growing and finding our footing. We have more AP and honors courses than both Poston Butte and Queen Creek, and we have a great upstart Journalism program that has already had students writing articles that have been printed in our local newspaper. We're a campus full of caring individuals, a knucklehead here and there, but thats life. I hate too see our school written off as horrible just because of a few things a small majority of the student body do. When deciding where your child should attend, and if you actually care about the learning quality instead of just listening to all the negativity, do a little research about this school. We've got a great program, and a sports program working it's way up. I personally love what we have here and can't wait to see how it develops even after I graduate.
--Submitted by a student

While the school clearly has alot of room for improvement academically,it's really not fair to blame all of that on the teachers and/or principal and administration.Parent involvement is pretty much ZILCH right now.I think that speaks for itself.You say the principal is disconnected and small percentage of qualified and caring teachers?We as parents are teachers ourselves. If we as parents "jump ship" the minute we have a problem,how are we teaching our children to deal with problems when they arise?I attended my first site council meeting about three weeks ago,which is made up of parents and teachers,and there for us to utilize when we have an issue that we might like addressed. I was surprised to see only 10 people, half of them teachers,including the principal.If we as parents have a child that attends this school and have concerns about anything, shouldn't we at least be fair and try to communicate first before giving a bad review?I for one have a student who fully intends on staying in this district,and it's not because he has to,it's because he wants to,which I hope is reflective of our parenting and involvement in his education. GO COYOTES!
--Submitted by a parent

Teachers are constantly striving to improve themselves and the school - and uphill battle considering how new the school is and how unsupportive and uninvolved many parents are. But, impressively, the administration and the teachers continue to hang in there, and are making a difference. A standout is the music program (particularly the choir and band where motivated kids + experienced no-nonsense teacher = great results very quickly).
--Submitted by a parent