Evergreen Valley High School

We moved to this school after the school year began. I had high hopes, but I have to say that I have been very disappointed. Despite this school's high rating, so far I find most of (not all) the teachers to be incompetent, unprofessional, weak in subject matter knowledge, and unhelpful. They really seem to hate teenagers. There are many fights, drugs, and overall lack of discipline. The dress code, or behavioral rules for that matter, are not enforced, because the administration is out of touch, lacking in an authoritative presence, and unwilling to take a stand. The athletic department is extremely disorganized, and the school's technology seems to date back to the 80's. Even the parents lack discipline, as they park illegally, do not follow rules, and do not enforce school rules on their children. This school's problems cannot be solved overnight, since the entire school district is underfunded and unsupported by the community. If you are considering moving to San Jose, wait until your children no longer need to attend school. Good luck to us all as we hope our children will learn under such terrible conditions.
--Submitted by a parent

There is a racial problem within the community of the school and out against anyone who is a minority to the large populations of Latinos and Asians. White people in particular due to their colour and generalized stereotypical wealth are highly targeted for such situations in and out of school by the Latino/Asian population of East Side San Jose in the act of jealousy. There have been several situations where White families have moved away as a result of racial bullying, among other discriminating factors.
--Submitted by a student

I agree with the lack of unity and lack of school spirit. In addituon, Admin/leadership of school does absolutley nothing to promote anything , very poor communications with parents (e.g announcing Back to school Night on school loop a few hours prior to the the event) 50% of teachers do not bother responding on school loop yet it is the ONLY connection the parent has with the school. School WAY TOO OVERCROWDED. Staff overworked. Teachers assume all students have computers and are expected to print out handouts. Library and computer labs inaccessible. In fairness to the teachers much of this is due to budget cuts w
--Submitted by a parent

I am a substitute teacher in the East Side District. Evergreen Valley is without doubt the best high school in the district. The behavior of the students is superior, the classroom preparation is excellent, and the student commitment to learning is obvious in virtually every classroom.

My child will be attending EVHS and the registration process has already been a disappointing experience. The staff who directed parents to the seating area presented herself more like a military drilled sergeant with no social etiquette or proper customer service skills. "Hey, put that down... You! sit over there!" It didn't feel like a school environment and that made me wonder the level of "quality" education the school is capable of providing.
--Submitted by a parent

I agreed with the assessment about EVHS. My daughter took AP Calculus AB last year (10th grade) with Ms Thieu and it was horrible. I had to hire private tutor for her 4 hours/wk to catch up because the teacher taught almost nothing at school and she gave out hw that took 3-4 hours a day to complete. My daughter is a straight A+ student in all her previous math classes (and other subjects). I hired 2 different experienced math tutors and they both agreed. When I emailed and asked her about it, she told me that it should take < 1hr a day to complete her math hw. Please. I was a calculus tutor and teacher assistant in college many years ago and I do know about math.
--Submitted by a parent

The students here deserve better teachers. I have recently completed my junior year at this school and the quality of the teachers is just horrendous. With the exception of a handful of wonderful teachers, most of the teachers at EV have obsolete teaching methods, unorganized grading systems, no motivation towards teaching, and are just plain incompetent. Many students here are very bright, talented, and passionate about learning, hence the schools high API score, but it is not because of the teachers. The staff quality is overwhelmingly poor; staff-student communication is almost nonexistent and most of the staff show no concern about the students' futures or well being. EV's good-looking campus is ruined by the overcrowding of students and complete lack of unity. There is almost no school spirit and the student population is divided up into its own secluded groups and cliques. Also, EV has a ridiculously poor selection of classes. EV has no honor classes, not many APs, and only two foreign languages. This is laughable when compared to other schools of this size. Other than a nice campus, good students, and an unpleasant high school experience, EV has little else to offer.
--Submitted by a student

Honestly, this school consist of the worst teachers, who can't comprehend the act of "teaching." This is my Junior year and it's a waste of time. Students are unmotivated because of the unmotivated teachers. I wish I could go to Silver Creek after hearing all the stories!
--Submitted by a student

Its more of the students making this a good school, not the staff. I personally think that this school may not have the right activities and staff for learning, but it definitely has the perfect learning environment for students of all abilities. For me, I really had no choice but to go here or silver creek, but for the sake of distance and friends, I chose this school.
--Submitted by a student

As a sophomore student here. I can say that it's been disappointing. Although there are some good teachers, I would say that some teachers aren't qualified to teacher their subjects, and are just lazy and incompetent. A more budget cuts happen, they'll be a lack of opportunities and services.
--Submitted by a student