Deer Valley High School

I'm a freshman this year and I must say this school is better then I thought it would be. The students are much nicer and social then in middle school, where I had no friends and now I have a hand full at DVHS. The're are really great teachers here. The teaching methods could be better, except there exceptional for a public highschool. The school main focus in on sports, i've noticed, where the athletic fields and areas take up more of the campus. The college prep ways are not very strong, letting students only take 2.5 years of history, and the requirements aren't very good with no requirement of foreign language and only required to take two years of science. The school is beautifully very ethnically diverse. Except a majority of the student body and faculty aren't too excepting of other types of diversity (LGBT, etc.). Overall, it's a okay school.
—Submitted by a student

I went to DV all 4 years of high school. I graduated in 2006, so things may have changed, but that school is out of control! It is just too crowded and for students that were actually there to learn the class sizes made it difficult. In many of my classes, throughout my 4 years, there weren't enough desks for all the students, so one or two would have to use the table in the front of the class. The dress code would be ridiculously strict, if they actually enforced what was in the rule book.
—Submitted by a former student

I can't say enough great things about Deer Valley High. Our children are very fortunate to be attending and graduating from such a wonderful public high school that is doing an outstanding job for their students and the community. Just fabulous!
—Submitted by a parent

I'm in my senior year at Deer Valley right now. Parents can say how wonderful the AP classes and wide range of electives are, which they are...but they don't have to walk through the overcrowded school every day and sit in 100 minute classes where probably 30 minutes of it is spent getting the class to settle down. I can't even blame the teachers anymore, because I'd be worn down and tired too if I had to deal with all the defiance. I can't focus at all. I've wanted to switch schools since freshmen year. If your on the line about sending your kid to DV, I highly advise you to look into a different school, you would be doing them a great service. I hate waking up in the morning to go to Deer Valley, I don't feel comfortable, and it's really an awful experience.
—Submitted by a student

This school has a lot of things other high schools don't. We have great sports,music, arts, and education here. As a recent graduate I'm proud to say I graduated here. Were not perfect nothing is but were trying our best.

Most of their California test scores are mediocre at best. If your goal as a parent is to give your child a chance just to go to college, then this school may be enough. If you are a parent who wants to give your child a better chance to be able to go to Berkeley, UCLA or the Ivies, look for another school.
—Submitted by a parent

I am concered for my son's safety at this school. Teachers are caring with kid but don't have the time to give parents a call when there's trouble.
—Submitted by a parent

A great school with great kids and a great principal
—Submitted by a student

The availability of music, art, and sports is tremendous at Deer Valley. The music program is outstanding with the Divine Voices and Show Choir. Academically Deer Valley is good, but certainly can be better. Overall, the instruction could be more challenging.
—Submitted by a parent

A suburban commuter school with a large population of students. There is no single majority of ethnic groups, no group over 50%. The school has 2 academies and 2 career pathways and many clubs and activities. Like all schools, there are problems but there are also extraordinary students and teachers there.
—Submitted by a teacher

There are close to 4,000 students at this school! It's overcrowded. It's also the size of a college campus. If you have a student who is a high achiever, then s/he should have no problem focusing in class. However, if you have a student who needs extra help, then a smaller school would be more appropriate in my opinion.
—Submitted by a parent

Deer Valley is a decent high school academically. My only concern is they allow too many kids outside the district in the school. I'm satisfied with my son's A.P. classes. However, the feedback to parents is loose and not well coordinated when a child has a problem. For that reason I would rate it 2.5 on a scale from 1 to 4. Their leadership program for kids is weak because the instructor is not competent in this area. The kids don't respect her input. The major complaint for most parents is the overcrowding in the school;
—Submitted by a parent

Great Staff and Admin towards Parents But My Kids reported that they are demeening towards them as if they were lower in status. Although Many of the students of DV are bused in from places such as Oakland, Concord, and Sometimes Martinez. These students have a tract record of being rude, inconsiderate, and many times force the Admin/staff to treat them as they are treated.
—Submitted by a former student

Deer Valley High offers a large number of extracurricular activities for students besides high academic goals. There is a constant effort to improve learning for all students through the acquisition of quality staff and innovative teaching strategies. I have a daughter who graduated from Deer Valley and was accepted at three CSUs and one UC for her college education. She took the rigorous AP English course at DVHS and subsequently passed the state AP test. My two younger children are currently attending DVHS (a Freshman and a Junior). Both are 3.0 students who are greatly enjoying their experience there.
—Submitted by a parent

This is an interesting school. My daughter attends Deer Valley High School, and informs me on the events taken place at Deer Valley. To the parents who are worried that Dv is unsafe, or any other negative term, let me assure you, Deer valley is extremely safe. And while they are not as organized as they should be, I have not had any serious problems with them. I honestly think that sending my child to DV was a better choice than her going to Antioch High. DV has so many technology advantages that I believe your child will get a better and more thoughough education.
—Submitted by a parent

I started teaching at Deer Valley in the fall of 2005. The first thing that impressed me was how well-behaved the kids were. Furthermore, the staff is more dedicated to their jobs than any I have ever worked with. This is a special school!
—Submitted by Barry Tesar, a teacher

The school has recently changed Principle's which is possitive because the last one was uninvolved. It offers AP classes, and the teachers for those are excellent, but school does not incourage enrollement. There is large diversity, but students self segrigate themselves. Students tend to litter a lot. Very large classes. You can do well in that school if you take harder classes.
—Submitted by a former student

The music program at Deer Valley is outstanding. Under the guidance of Ms. Henderson, the students thrive in this realm. The musical productions and concerts are awesome!
—Submitted by Cindy Turlington, a parent

The work is very complex , teachers seem like they barely care if you pass or not the environment is not that good why would it be for a school reaching almost 4000 kids thats why I want to transfer to another school.
—Submitted by Shakyla Adams, a student

Many kids from other districts going to this school due to their school's inability to accommodate them.
—Submitted by a parent