Leland High School

If you get more difficult classes you will find some really fantastic teachers, like all schools there are those teachers that are just bad but I feel like the majority care about learning and are quite good at teaching. underfunded school though
—Submitted by a student

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

The teachers here at Leland don't help. They give you the work and you need to learn it yourself. I am a senior and I can't wait to leave Leland. I learned a lot but not all the teacher helped me.
—Submitted by a student

If you have a child who is struggling with a class you will not get any support from the staff at Leland
—Submitted by a parent

I've been to 13 different schools in my lifetime. I had the displeasure of being a student here my freshman and sophomore years and I can say, without hesitation, Leland is the worst school I've ever studied in. The AP kids are way too focused on academics - all they do at lunch is moan about how their 92% test score isn't good enough. And while this mindset is good for getting into college, it's not healthy for the real world where street smarts and social skills rule. The teachers are incompetent - they all impressive academic credentials but don't know how to TEACH. None of the staff here enjoy their time; pick up the phone, call the school and you'll easily notice the foul mood. I'm not a whining - I'm just objectively comparing the school to the others I've attended.
—Submitted by a student

Since the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, both the administration and the students are finding ways to improve school spirit. Most of the teachers are not fantastic, and some make you wonder if they even know anything about the subject they are teaching. However, there are teachers who demand excellence and creative thinking and do a great job of expanding our knowledge without making it tedious. The speech and debate team is one of the best in the country not because there are so many members, but because we have wonderful coaches who constantly give us constructive criticism and encouragement. The music department is headed by a music director that has taken his choirs, orchestra, and band to CMEA's and competitions in Anaheim, and brought back many awards. Leland has definitely improved since last year.
—Submitted by a student

Very disorganized, they will only tell you information if you ask for it. Otherwise, you know nothing.
—Submitted by a parent

administrators have little respect and teachers provide negative comments for students.
—Submitted by a parent

Okay, so this is my sophmore year at this place. Let me just be straight forward, and not beat around the bush... it sucks. This is the worst school ever. We have no school spirit, all the 'smart' kids are only smart cause they want to get the answers, but they truely don't know what it means. Kids here are not taught to learn, or have fun learning, but get the right answer. That's all that matters in this school. Teachers only care about how many answers the kids get right, not how much they learn, or even understand for that matter. It has rich, white kids, who are cliquish and discriminate against the asians, who discriminate against the rich, white kids. I'm not 'rich,' but I am white, and I have experienced first hand, the discrimination of being white. Anyway, I only get 150 words, so take this to heart.
—Submitted by a student

I'm a recent alum who sees Leland more positively having left it. In the advanced classes especially, the pressure to be the best was evident and often indirectly due to the parents - but truthfully, the levels of competition were extremely similar in other highly-ranked South Bay schools. For a public school, Leland has top-tier academics for those who can handle it. I felt that AP/honors teachers were much more involved in students' success. There was a discrepancy between the motivated and unmotivated, and the corresponding courses and instructors reflected that. Sports, music, arts, and government are existent but not prominent; the pride and joy is the speech and debate team. School spirit is horrible, partly because the admin is very strict and uninterested, concerned more with test scores and reputation.
—Submitted by a student

I am a student at the school in my sophmore year. I came to this school after going to 2 different schools for my freshman year so I have something to compare to. The school is great if your student is above average and very motivated to learn. But if your student struggles and gets destracted easily they will be left behind. The teachers are only good if they are new to teaching and are waiting for thier tenure. The administration only pays attention to the rich kids who have parents that contribute to the school. Lastly the students are the most cliquey I have ever seen in my life. Usually Ive been able to make friends at my new schools easily but here at Leland it took forever! Noone is friendly to outsiders, usually because theyve had thier friends all thier lives. I would never send my future kids here!
—Submitted by a student