Westchester Senior High School

This is is out of control.My daughter is terrified by the continuous fights at the school.Police officers in battle with student.I am so scared as a parent to have my daughter at the school for one more month.My daughter had the wrong classes and I took care of the issue with the counsellor.Now,I am worrying about her safety everyday.I withdrew her from school two days in a row because of the fights and the buildings are locked due to the fire by students on the previous days.It is sad my child can't attend the school without fear of her life.One more month please Lord!I am so scared! Real bad kids attend that school.I am scared!
—Submitted by a parent

Parent involvement dwindled to a handful due to lack of organization, communication and the need for control of all entities of the school by the lead administrators. The school lacks a school culture or even school pride. There seems to be a lack of understanding of the importance of involvement of community, parents and stakeholders collaborating TOGETHER. The school is progressing this year in beautification and communicating with parents through technology. The teachers are good and many of them are long-time veteran teachers; some classes lack in providing innovative projects, technology use and appealing to the student s creativity to prepare them for college and/or appeal to the diverse learning styles and real-world implementations into the curriculum. Some students cause problems in the class that inhibit the learning environment. The percentage is small for students that actually live in the neighborhood that attend the school. The basketball program continues to thrive. Parents stay abreast on the happenings of the school, visit the school/classes, attend a meeting, communicate with the teacher and especially talk to your child to better understand the school dealings.
—Submitted by a parent

Wow! WESM HEAD ADMINISTRATOR brags about this school and YET FAILS TO RECOGNIZE AND ACKNOWLEDGE its OUTSTANDING STUDENTS. Why? My son, a student with a 4.0GPA E-E and others with a 3.0GPA or better have yet to be given a proper day! This same person looked me in the eye earlier this year and told me there would be a "SCHOOL SPONSORED" award ceremony for ALL GRADE LEVELS... giving recognition and acknowledgement to ALL THE OUTSTANDING STUDENTTS... it has yet to happen... 2 YEARS "NO" SCHOOL SPONSORED AWARD CEREMONY FOR ALL GRADE LEVELS FOR THOSE EARNING THE RIGHT... I support the teachers!!! It is not the school that is making my son and his classroom success and others like him... it is my son and those students like him that are making the school... so, Mr. PRNCIPAL....ACKNOWLEDGE THESE STUDENTS - RECOGNIZE THESE STUDENTS... You post on your website a list of HONOR ROLL TITLES... wow, I have yet to recievea certificate indicating his earning the TOP HONOR ROLL, etc! COLLEGES ALWAYS ASK - WHAT AWARDS HAVE YOU EARNED OR WHAT HONOR ROLLS HAVE YOU BEEN ON? Yes this is what colleges ask... TELL THAT TO MY SON - MEMBER OF "THE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARS"...
—Submitted by a parent

Both my sons have attended this school my oldest graduated this year with honors and had many scholarship offers and is on his way to college as are all of his friends-- the graduations rate of seniors increased dramatically and it was just annouced that ALL kids in AP courses taking the AP exam passed the examine that is 100% pass rate- that does not sound like a bad school to me. If your kids are not afraid of hard work and want to be apart of a good community this is a good school .
—Submitted by a parent

As a former student of WHS, I would recommend parents do not send your children to this school and if they are enrolled, transfer them to another school! There has been so much inconsistency in the past four years which ranges from; a different bell schedule every year, a different principal each year, a change in staff and administration each year, etc. We as students were not really given a chance to create a relationship with our staff and administration since our favorite teachers were displaced and new, insensitive teachers were put in their place. These changes have made WHS/WESM a harsh learning environment. Although my experience here wasn't excellent, there were many great teachers in the 2011-2012 school year that showed passion in what they taught and opened up to the students, they made us feel welcome and wanted. Our college counselor listened to our problems and did the best she could at being a voice for the students and expressing to administration how we felt. Administration failed to listen no matter how we approached them and no matter what the problem was, it was less than likely to be resolved in a timely manner. Administration always seemed angry at students..
—Submitted by a student

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

I have seen a drastic change in my granddaugher since starting Westchester High. This is one of the worse high schools in the state. Needless to say this is her first and last year at Westchester. Students are out of control at Westchester
—Submitted by a parent

I am a student currently enroled at westchester in the 10th grade. When I came here last year, the school was horrid students where uncaring and out of control, teachers where going mad and looing there resolve to teach and, out of class, students where uncontroled. After a large reform over the summer, the school has improved segnificantly. There are less uncarring students and the classes are less packed. The school seems to be slowly getting better academicaly, but socialy it is generaly the same as when I came here. Overall the general student attatud is still nay for education.
—Submitted by a student

My daughter graduated from Westchester High School in 2004. We both feel that she was very well prepared for college. She took mostly Honors and AP classes. And as a matter of fact, she feels that college is easier than high school. She is currently on the Dean's List at her university in NYC.
—Submitted by a parent

Westchester might not be the best, but it's good.
—Submitted by a student

I'm a former student of Westchester high school since 2004. I am currently enrolled in Independent study which is far more superior then the troublesome natures that Westchester high hold. I believe the school has many extra activities to offer but overall the school will change your child for worse. Thanks for your time and remember, do not go to Westchester high.
—Submitted by a former student

I think Westchester High School is a very bad school. This school could use better leadership.
—Submitted by a parent