Palos Verdes Peninsula High School

Great school academically, but if you cannot afford to line the coaches pockets, your child either does not play or gets cut.
—Submitted by a parent

The principal and counselors are outstanding. They truly care about the students and in helping them to succeed in future endeavors. Always available when students ask for help on issues they may have at school. Teachers are fantastic, however one Spanish teacher is lacking in sensitivity training and does not inspire her students in any productive way. All in all, a great school, just avoid Spanish!
—Submitted by a parent

Peninsula offers a wide range of curricular directions for all students. It addresses the needs of Limited English Speakers. It also address the needs of disabled and challenged students. The number of National Merit Scholars is extremely impressive. The leadership of the school is guided by ethics and principles. Integrity at this school has meaning from the top down. Test score have meaning as do teachers grades and evaluations. Pen High has been the flagship of academics for the district. This has been the case for decades. The matriculation of Pen High s students is beyond impressive. It is equal to or exceeds even the best of elite private prep schools. The Palos Verdes community is very supportive of its schools. Peninsula High is a great exemplar of the community getting what it is paying for despite the devastating budget cut imposed by the State. This school works well.

The negative reviews are so true as stated below. Some of the teachers are aweful and they work as a governement staff which is "don't care, don't help, and just leave as soon as the bell rings." Discrimination happens in the school even though it's difficult to prove it. Coaches insult my sons in front of everyone because my sons cannot participate the summer training during the summer holiday. My sons had to take summer classes, community service plus SAT prep courses and tha'ts why they could not join the training. A teacher rejected to let my sons check their grades and often lost the students' assignments. In addition, she could set 25% of a grade as participation points and this is just not fair when some students can't speak English or some students are just quiet. At the end of the day if she likes you, she gives you higher grade, if not, be prepared to get a low grade from her. I always send my children to the best school but this is really not one of the best I have come across.
—Submitted by a parent

PVPHS is an excellent school. It has high academic standards, however it also have a wide variety of classes if your student is not a superstar. Teachers and administrators are caring and respond quickly to emails or phone calls. I have two children with completely different personalities and academic strengths and both flourished at Pen High. It is much more culturally diverse than the other high school. Highly recommend.
—Submitted by a parent

I give this low rating because my son attended this school for almost a year before my husband's job relocated us. He took almost all honors classes and received straight A's. Acedemically, the school boasts. The school's honor students do so well because a huge majority of the students that take the honors and AP classes have their parents pay for daily tutoring. My son found that most of the honors teachers rearely lectured but assigned a ton of homework. It is an extremely unbalanced school. This school reminds me of a caste system (two groups). The first group is the honors students who attend daily tutoring sessions after school, and the second group is the non honors students who are very low acheivers and the bar is set very low for non honor or AP classes. There are a bunch of students who come from outside the area beccause their parent's employers are located in the city and these children are on average the low acheivers taking the regular courses. My son said that the regular classes are a joke. Most of the students taking the regular classes do not care about school and very rearly do their homework.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is a very wonderful school. I am so proud that my son can have chance to learn in this school. This school's education is not only focusing on test scores but also focusing on training students' ability. I hope this website "GreateSchool" can give 10 rating to this school.
—Submitted by a parent

My child used to attend this school until very recently. At the beginning, I had nothing but the best things to say about this school and the entire school district. After all, I even moved here just for the school district. But even in our "perfect" neighborhood of "haves", there are non-students who come on campus. When I told them, nothing was done and they didn't bother to ask follow up questions. I have witnessed first hand the polar opposite punishment given to students based upon color/ethnic background. Same for athletes (I won't mention a particular sport.). The school gives preferential treatment to the "Eddie Haskels" of the bunch. I am completely disillusioned.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm currently attending PHS. You know when people exaggerate critiques for schools, but this school really deserves the standing it has today. It's an amazing school, and the academics are wonderful. Compared to others around the country it is almost a priviledge to attend here.
—Submitted by a student

It's education and amazing for a public school.
—Submitted by a parent

It's a great school with excellent teachers and amazing students!
—Submitted by a student

Peninsula has some of the best teachers ever! Go Panthers!
—Submitted by a parent

There is a wide range of electives, from cooking to glass blowing to digital animation. It also has one of the highest API scores in the nation. In short, panthers rule (or pwn, depending on who you are).
—Submitted by a parent

I graduated from PVPHS in 2008, and let me start of by telling you unbiasedly that it is academically superior to PVHS, and now that I am in college this is readily apparent to me. My PVHS friends, with the exceptions of the ones who really pushed themselves, struggle with workloads and standards that myself and other PVPHS students are already accustomed to. PVPHS, especially the honors departments, expect excellence, which is reasonable when you consider that the teachers demonstrate academic excellence. Many PVPHS teachers have taught for upwards of 10 and 20 years, and many of them worked in other districts before their excellence was recognized and they were invited to teach at PVPHS. PVPHS is excellence incarnate.
—Submitted by a student

I really enjoy attending Pen High. There are a lot of classes that it offers that I could not get any where else. The campus is very nice, too.
—Submitted by a student

This school is located in one of the wealthiest communities in the country, and the financial support from boosters in all areas is unparalleled. The academics at this school are certainly high-ranking, but do not enroll your child if s/he has any learning issues whatsoever.
—Submitted by a teacher

Palos Verdes Peninsula High School has a top notch academic program. It made my transition to college seamless. The extra-curricular activities far exceed any that are offered at other high schools.
—Submitted by a former student

Peninsula HS offers the best of the best! Academically our kids are challenged and then challenged some more. The staff really cares about the kids and it shows. The counseling staff is over the top and is always happy to share their knowledge and expertise with the students. This is a low wealth school with tons of National Awards, high test scores, etc. It is a shining example of what a high school should look like---- our kids are very fortunate indeed.
—Submitted by a parent

Academic programs here are top-notch. Teachers are experienced and knowledgeable, and are great about communicating with parents about their child's progress. There are many extracurricular activities for students to choose from. One of the best programs available is AVID, which is designed to help students who have the potential but may need to learn study skills to succeed. My daughter learned to be organized, take notes, etc., and it is helping her tremendously now in college.
—Submitted by a parent

Great school. I love all of the new teachers. I have a senior and a freshman and so experience it on both ends. Teachers are well trained and really care about the students.
—Submitted by a parent