Leland High School

i absolutely love Leland! the teachers are hard but that's whats good. they push you in a good way. it is just so much fun! there are cliques but very little.
--Submitted by a student

Both my daughter and son graduated from this school. Though they weren't hrilled with all of their teachers, there are some very good ones. You can send your childeren to this school just for their speech and debate program (#1 in the country). It moulded them into fine young adults building self-confidence and prepared them for their adult lives. Just as any other high achieving school it is pretty competitive but is well balanced compared to other comparable Bay area schools.
--Submitted by a parent

I wouldn't trade my high school experience at Leland for anything. They have the number one speech and debate team in the nation, and a thriving, diverse student body who is equipped for success. The drive that I've found here in the students have inspired me so much; there have been at least six people in the Class of '11 admitted into Ivy League schools, if that's any way to measure motivation. The teachers might not be great and the administration isn't the most helpful bunch of people, but I'd say that's life; high school is where teens learn to stop being coddled and grow up - to figure out their own direction in life and pursue it.
--Submitted by a student

If you have a very smart child and you want him to feel like a failure, then put your child in this school. The teachers are just there to make student's life miserable. If your child is a big kissup, then he/ she will be very successful here. The bottom line is that the teachers are incompatible, mean and unfair. Please don't waste your money on a million dollar house here. Its just not worth it. I pulled my child out in the middle because my extremely intelligent child felt like stupid here. He is a straight A student in another high school.
--Submitted by a parent

The teachers at this school don't care about giving the kids an education, math teachers copy examples directly from the book and then get them wrong. English and history teachers give out busy work that is simplistic in nature but very tedious. The administration is an even bigger joke and instead of buying badly needed books they choose to spend their budget on landscaping for the school that didnt make it look any better. Not to mention the purple "thing" they have in the quad. They are always trying to give parents and students the run around, telling them to go from one to the other, and to top it all off they are constantly messing up students transcripts including some students who will not be graduating on time as a result.
--Submitted by a student

Awful school. It is overrun by Asians and Indians who constantly get A's. They complain when they get their A-'s and the teachers have to use higher standards than other schools like Pioneer just because of how many geniuses there are at Leland. The sad part is that if you are an average student, Leland will be hell for you. The students there are rude and racist. The smartest students refuse to help other students and Leland is not for the average student who wants to have a good high school career. it is a school for bookworms and kids with no lives but studying.
--Submitted by a student

I hate this school (except for Media Arts [video production], art, and Leland Plus [not actually the same school, but still on campus and is associated with Leland, of course). The teachers have been told to not stop and help kids who need extra help, and only help the kids who are already academically gifted... NOT FAIR! I have had a few WONDERFUL teachers (Ms. O'Shea, Mr. Schwab, Mrs. Gillingham, Ms. Kat, Mr. Barros) there who have not used that method, but they are mostly busy dealing with kids who are upset over getting a 98% (no lie). Most students at Leland are racist, homophobic, and anti-social. Leland may look good because of its API ranking, which is high, but keep in mind that it mostly consists of Asian/East Indian/foreign exchanged, academically advanced students. The average student has a very hard time and very little help.
--Submitted by a student

The teachers at leland high are great.The help that i recieve is REALLY HELPFULL.! The teachers there may be tough,but for really good reasons. TO GET YOUR EDUCATION THE RIGHT WAY!! all you parents need to step back and think before you speak.!! LELAND HIGH IS A GREAT SCHOOL :]
--Submitted by a student

The staff at Leland just don't care about the kids that are 'struggling' ! No child left behind is a joke!
--Submitted by a parent

For all you gripers about Leland, no, it's not a Utopian high school, with the perfect teachers, students & staff. But I would argue the same for many schools. Leland will well prepare students for college and the current work place, especially in the SF Bay area, where diversity in the work place rule. My daughter is a bi-racial sophomore at the school and will take advantage of it's academic rigors, while enjoying sports and social activities. She complains like a lot of teenage girls about her homework load, but I refuse to blame the school for her circumstances. Furthermore, about cliques, when your student finds a school without them, let me know.
--Submitted by a parent