Westchester Senior High School

Today is the START of something new "HONOR ROLL". Nest step hopefully an "AWARD CEREMONY" for ALL students earning a 3.0 or better. Things are starting to change - once again my son continues to earn a 4.0 GPA... and earned "advanced" on the CST. Today the school "officially" recognized him and others like him by hand delivery of his first "SPECIAL HONOR ROLL" certificate. One day parents like myself will be able to share in the moment. Thank you Mr Carr for listening - and recognizing ALL kids earning the grade in the classroom should be recognized regardless of grade level. Now he can truely be known as a STUDENT ATHLETE!!! GO NICK, GO!
--Submitted by a parent

Dear Westchester High community, I am anxious to know how things are going since the magnet school was started. How will this change the overall ratings of the school? How about the ethnic mix; will this also change? As a parent in the area, we would like to send our children to school there, but will need to see dramatic improvement in the next few years to be more comfortable with that decision. Are more kids from Westchester and Playa del Rey choosing to attend, now that the magnet program is in place? Please comment when you can. Thanks very much! Tony Marsh Playa del Rey, CA

As a former student I am deeply disappointed with the overall high school experience that I received at WHS. Many students had no desire to learn and only served as a distraction to others in the classroom. I was exposed to so many horrific events during the 4 years spent at WHS, by the time I had graduated I m sure I had seen or heard every last violent, offensive, demeaning or cruel action. There is very little parent participation and absolutely no community pride at WHS. The one redeeming quality of the school is that many of the teachers do their best and strive to teach the subject matter in a creative way. Despite this most students have no aspiration to learn and study, hence the low API score.

My daughter and I are both pleased with our decision to transfer to Westchester High. She enjoys going to school and the students, teachers & staff have been wonderful! She wants to major in Kinesiology / Physical Therapy, so now with the Magnet program in place for the entire school and her being able to get into the school of Health & Sports Medicine...We couldn't be more excited!!!
--Submitted by a parent

WHS is not a school, I would send my child to. Each year, more and more dedicated parents pull out their child from WHS to attend a more suitable school. It lacks administration and organization and the drop out rate is very HIGH. People that live in the area & attend, is because they have no other choice. The API score was in the 500s last year and is in the 605 or 615 this year. The courses are not rigorous and many teachers don't care, you can easily receive a 3.5 gpa by just turning in & doing work & NOT LEARNING! Some teachers do try, but they fail and just curve grades instead (AP classes). The only highlight for this school is their Basketball team and I heard they have a baseball coach for a soccer coach! If you really care about your child's education,I would not send them here because the motivation and caring for their education will leave them. Hopefully, soon the school will have no other choice to turn charter and get some actual teachers as well as kick out students that don't belong there. For one thing, I am considering to go to my home school that I belong to and should have attended in the first place instead of choosing WHS.
--Submitted by a student

I'm not sure who wrote the review below, however almost everything note is inaccurate. This school's drop-out rate is very high. WSHS's test score in the bottom 20% among schools state wide. Ranging from conduct and to basic safety issues, this school is very poor. Even teeachers refuse to place their own kids in the school. As for local high school age kids attending, this is a blatant inaccuracy. The is less than 10% of local kids who attend. In fact, the students who come from the middle school are predominately not residents either. As a former student, this school has only turned for the worse.
--Submitted by a student

My child is a 10th grader at WHS and has received an excellent education. I have never seen such great teachers. The teachers took an active role in helping guide her to great courses the school offers. The school offers a tremendous amount of AP classes, has fabulous sports programs, and great elective choices. Students who graduate from Westchester are getting into some of the most prestigious colleges around the country. Their API scores are on the rise, and with new administration in place I believe they will only continue to rise. There is a perception that no neighborhood children attend this school and it simply isn't true. A huge group of my child's peers from Orville Wright and other schools are attending WHS. They offer great honors programs through either Honors classes in magnet or community school as well as their new SAS (school for advanced studies) program.
--Submitted by a parent

I am currently a student in the 9th grade, I dont know why a lot of people say this is a bad school it's been fine for me. Nobody will do anything unless you go asking for trouble. The honors program is really good and the kids are usually well behaved and the teachers are superb. Mr Page is the best teacher of all though if you go to Westchester you must have him!
--Submitted by a student

This is a pretty good school the students are fine, but what worries me the most is the administration lacks organization. They do not plan ahead and are very spontaneous but other than that I think that if you pay attention in class any school can give you an education if you try and get you prepared for college.
--Submitted by a student

I am a student currently going to my 10th grade year. I really dont know why so many people say this school is bad. Its actually a great school. Most of the students actually pay attention and learn. Most f the teachers actually care. The teacher that cares the most is Mr. Page. He is the teacher that will pudh you to yoiur success in this school. If you go to this school, you must have Mr. Page. He even has been nominated as teacher of the month by CNN.
--Submitted by a student