School of Engineering & Sciences

SES has a new principal and vice principal this year - and they are doing a great job. Yes, the Zangle program was not workig properly at the beginning of the year - but now I can get on and feel up to date as to how my child is doing in class. I believe this school has great potential and offers a strong engineering and sciences curriculum. They now offer GATE classes for middle school, and AP classes for highschool. I would like to see more parental involvement - that is my only gripe so far.
—Submitted by a parent

My son is currently an 8th grader at SES. We moved him from a K-8 to SES in hopes that it would better prepare him for high school. As soon as he started SES his grades began slipping. The Zangle program that was touted so much was not being used properly by the teachers, making it virtually impossible to keep on top of my sons slipping grades. This year is even worse- the teachers don't seem to care about their students grades, there has been virtually no communication from his teachers, and I am at the point where I will either be pulling him out to home school him, or put him in another school. I am that desparate to get him out of SES. We were also looking forward to the supposedly strong engineering program, and that has also fallen flat.
—Submitted by a parent

I am beginning to believe that this school is treating their kids like 2nd graders and not young adults... I was looking throught the parent handbook and it would say things like "Parents should be checking the assignment planners and monitoring homework daily" or "Their planners have a green and red side, they put the red side up if they don't understand the subject". I'm sorry but I thought this school was giving college credits to the high schoolers.... Personally I think they should make this school a middle school...

Small enough for your kids to get individualized attention. If you're kid loves science and math and you haven't bought in to the "GATE" business...you should look into SES. Great administrators, probably have the best principal in the district...can't complain about teachers at any school when new ones and old ones get transferred or pink slipped for no logical reason.
—Submitted by a parent

This school doesnt have very good teachers, or enough extra curricular classes. no sports, or any electives. i think that this school should really be just for middle school and not highschool because its just way to small to be both.- an 8th grader who is planning to leave the school next year

As with any SCUSD school there are certain limits, but the principal does a good job of working within those confines to attempt to offer students an excellent education. After school tutoring and clubs are available, most of the staff is approachable, the campus is great and the school community is one of high expectation. This school has much more to offer students in the SCUSD than any of the other schools I am familiar with. Students here are expected to achieve at higher levels and become professionals, going on to college and careers, rather than dead-end jobs, maybe trade school or college, as seems to be the expectations at other schools. The teachers are good about responding to parent emails, although I have had trouble with a few of them not communicating with me or my daughter. The office staff is friendly and helpful.
—Submitted by a parent

Principal leadership is horrible. She has a pre-determined decision no matter what you ask her, and its not usually to your interest. The school is worried on controlling the students instead of letting them learn. Most students go there because its just another high school, yet I assume staff think otherwise. This school shouldnt be on this website. The school keeps a councillor in the nurses office instead of a real nurse. And the councillor is fake. She offers no help what so ever to students that need it. Constant misleading promises. The school is horrible with trash left by students everywhere. The janitors and teachers expect students to clean classrooms before leaving them, even if it isnt theirs. Students are forced to have pre-determined electives, so theres no freedom to electives. Students in high school are treated like 5 year olds with the "count down method" to get them quiet. Id advice never to go there and just choose JFK, where i plan to transfer very soon. -A 10th grade student that has been there since it opened.

My son at the School of Engineering and Sciences tells me all the time about the wonderful experience he is having at this school. His favorite teacher, the math teacher, has been an incredible teacher exploring the interesting and unique ways of applying math into everyday lives and great ways to integrate previous math lessons into current and future equations and problems. His excellent personality and witty ways shows his students why math is important for our lives. My son also talks about how big of an influential figure the biology teacher has been. He teaches them how group projects and interactivity helps develop a better student. The overall teacher quality is amazing, for them not being the basic teacher and them actually being friendly and fun, making my son enjoy this school so much. The parent involvement is great, with a strong involvement with the PTSA, they make sure events are done smoothly and strongly. The student government is strong, my son says they are very efficient and are very strong role models, being funny, responsible and having a strong connection with the students. I highly recommend this school to any student. PS: The school goes up to grades 7-12.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has some of the best teachers in the state. The math programs are extremely rigorous and have a great learning experience The science teachers here are very professional and provide many great labs throughout the year. The English teachers know many different languages to help them interact better with students from different ethnic backgrounds. The testing scores are also above the average for any of the California schools. Most of the kids who left this school should have left before because they were unwanted.

SES has absolutely been the worst "high school" experience. We have been there since the day it opened and kept hoping it would get better. It has not. It is run like a junior high and not a high school. High schoolers are not the priority here. I would not advise going here if you are looking to continue on to a UC. Getting the required courses in has been next to impossible. Teachers say homework is not turned in when it is sitting in the pile in their box, counseling for high schoolers has been a joke and the administration just does not seem to care. Focus is more on controlling the student body rather than teaching them. And yet that can't seem to enforce something as simple as a dress code. A very disappointing experience.
—Submitted by a parent

I am also a 8th grader intending on going to John F. Kennedy next year for highschool. When I first went to School of Engineering and Sciences I expected a great outcome. The school lacks in many subjects. Just like the lastest reviewers have state "the staff pays more attention on controling the kids rather than teaching the students what is needed to learn" and seems like they can never find the right staff members to do the job of teaching. And I do agree most of the students aren't even interested in the courses that they are teaching. School of Engineering and Sciences is a small school giving only limited options of what you can do there.

While going to SES seemed to be a good idea at first, over the course of my 7th grade year I found that though the teachers are interested in helping the students, the staff is more interested in controlling them, and there are very little options. Also, 85% of the students that go here aren't even interested in careers in science or engineering, and nearly all of the kids that go here are just downright rude! Now that i'm in my 8th grade year, i'm thinking about leaving SES and going to JFK next year.

This school is great. The students are nice, you get a good education, and it has wonderful teachers. This school might be new but its headed in the right direction. I recomend that you send your child here.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm an 8th grader at School of Engineering and Sciences. This is the second year of the school. It is soon going to be a 7-12th grade public school. Right now it is 7-10th. The school is just ok. They don't have band or many sports. Track and field was the only sport last year. If your child likes math or science the school is good, but if they are into extracurricular activities think twice about sending them there. The whole concept of the school is good, but they are still getting their act together. Hopefully in a couple of years it will be a really good school.
—Submitted by a student