Colton High School

Do not blame the school for your child's minimum effort. As a student I believe that Colton High school is not a bad school. Chs is a very diverse school, not only will your child learn in a indiscriminate environment they will learn life lessons from amazing teachers they will never forget. This year I have not seen or heard of any riots. Compared to other school Chs does not have any mean cliques. Everyone is welcomed and all the students have a sense of belonging.
—Submitted by a student

i was a student at this school and i can say that it is an unsafe environment for learning due to the violent nature of the students and the inability of the official to curtail such violence as there were numerous riots at the school during my term there
—Submitted by a student

As a former student of CHS, I can't deny that the school has major problems that need solving. That being said, there are so many extraneous factors contributing to the schools low performance that blame can't be placed solely on the adminstration and teachers. If I can offer any advice to parents, it would be to please encourage you child to enter the AP program. Those are the only classes where you can have some degree of a challenge and mingle with students who actually aspire to get out of Colton and go to college. To go to Colton High means the motivation for academic excellence will have to come from the persoanl drive and ambition of the student. The school just doesn't have the resources to really push for excellence.
—Submitted by a parent

I felt that teachers and staff didn't implement the importance of going to college as much as they should have.

I believe that the teachers do care about the students. The only improvement I would make is the PE classes. Kids don't seem to get enough exercise.
—Submitted by a student

As a senior at Colton High I must say the amount of effort the administrative team puts into this school is outstanding. The community not only supports the sports programs on campus but also supports the school as a whole. The athletic porgrams availble on campus teach students leadership skills as well as how to work with your team mates to make something amazing happen. The ASB class at this school is constantly involve and works extremly hard to pull off as many activities as possible. The school and class spirit is tremendous and the pep rallies are remarkable. In addition to the extracurricular programs available, the teachers truely care about the students. The new principal, Mr. Verdi, shows a great amount of interest in the well-being of the students and the opinions of the parents. I highly recommend this school. GO JACKETS!
—Submitted by a student

I decided to send my children to Nova Meridian Academy (www.NMA.ms) instead of Colton or Redlands. In their first year, even with challenges every first year business faces, their California Standardized Test (CST) results for English & History were better than Colton, Redlands and even the State of California! Of this year s (2008/2009) teaching staff, one third of the teachers have their PHD! The Biology is a research scientist/paleontologist. One AVID teacher has written several books for NASA and is excited to teach students to write. Every teacher is full of energy and delighted to be a part of this team. Some schools place their most advanced students in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program. At NMA, EVERY student is part of AVID. Sending our my children to NMA was our greatest decision . When they graduate, I believe they will be accepted into several four year colleges.
—Submitted by a parent

Colton High School is not 'Committed to High Standards.' There are two main problems with the school itself (the school district is another story). The first is that the school is built for only 1,300 students but houses 3,200. The school is dominated by portable classrooms which constantly eat away at free space for students. They are squeezing more and more students into less and less space in a closed campus situation. This leaves a tense environment with the students which is not a productive or acclimated for learning. Second, there is no 'above-and-beyond' expectation of the students. The expectation of students is to simply pass. The school as a whole pushes students to meet their graduation requirements and pass to get their diploma. This, I believe, is from total absence of faculty cohesion. There cannot be a unified expectation from faculty, if there is no unified faculty.
—Submitted by a student

I think this school is the worst. My daughter was a straight A student until attending here. She is now failing math and barely getting B's. Not to mention the behavior problems the school as a whole is having. Wake up administration and get a program in to deal with the racial issues you are having. Denial is not going to do it. The counselors also need to wake up and realize a junior college can be just as good as a regular college. I am insulted that my child was told to not go to a junior college.
—Submitted by a parent

I think that this is an awsome school my little brother goes here and always comes home talking about every thing new that he learned that day.

colton school is a great school they keep me,as parent up to date on my student progress, and they care about the student.
—Submitted by a parent

I think colton high school is a great school. they have good programs and the teacher really care for the students and help them in every way. its up to the student if they want to graduate or not...its not the teachers choice or the school. We have many academic programs and more things to help.
—Submitted by a student

Some of the teachers are organized and dedicated and the others won't return the parent's phone calls. When I call to clear up an absence they tell me to have my student talk to the teacher. Why call me at home if I am not involved? I wouldn't know if my kid is ditching or not, since the student and the teacher are supposed to discuss it and that's the last I hear about it. I have never dealt with a school that could careless about attendance. The parents aren't involved because there is an attitude that lets you know that you aren't welcome. Unfortunately, we can't get the CUSD to build a high school in Grand Terrace. The students taking the bus have to sit on eachother's laps due to overcrowding. That's unsafe!
—Submitted by a parent

The parents for the most part are not involved.

The students at this school have strong minds and they know how to use it to their advantage. Whether or not you will be successful after attending Colton High is up to the students themselves. It is what you make of it. The funding for sports will always be higher because the sports bring in their own money because of games and fundraisers. The teachers at Colton do not get the recoginition that they deserve! Mr. Coke seems to be doing a great job as prinipal at the school. As a former student myself, I think parental involvement at the school is greatly needed!
—Submitted by a former student

The majority of the teachers I had did the best they could for their students. The newest principal, Mr.Coke, is a vast improvement. One of the biggest complaints I have about the school is the lack of funding for the arts (especially drama), and more money spent on football. Doesn't anyone remember the millions of dollars spent on a new field when our classrooms and auditorium needed fixing?
—Submitted by a former student

I love this school. They have really helped my kids be successful and they really stay on my kids to be successful. My wife and I will do whatever the school desires to support them completely
—Submitted by a parent

Horrible school, I pulled my child out after a year.
—Submitted by a parent

Low class environment. School is aged and delapitated. Parents are complainers.
—Submitted by a former student

Colton High is a place where students can recieve a great education. I find that many members of the staff truly care about the kids. There are several wonderful programs in effect there such as: AVID, Academic Competition, the AP program and so on.
—Submitted by a teacher