Maria Carrillo High School

Even had a consoler grag that good students are afraid to miss a day sick because they are sick and afraid of falling behind. Sham on you fro creating this enviornment. 25% of first year algebra students fail. Yet the school takes no responsibility. Once a kid falls behind or has a bad week, forget it. They get demotivated and are labeled as either not having the ability or are lazy. Unless you are in creative arts, they have no desire to create a well rounded education. Three hours of home work nightly? Way too much if you have any outside activities. Good schools and good teachers can create good results with a reasonable work load. Poor schools and poor teachers need to use a high work load and take some responsability to help motivate not demean and demotivate.
--Submitted by a parent

I am a parent of a recent graduate who is a good student but struggled at the school. This school is very "in the box" if you have a student who doesn't fit the "I am very disciplined and work very hard mode" then this is probably not the school for your child. There is not a lot of support or understanding for students that don't fit their mold. Some of the academic classes are taught at AP class level and some classes are taught at college level. This may be a good thing for the upper 5-10% of students but not for the remaining. Previous responses were correct the survey classes are for the behavioral kids. Very disappointed, my youngest will not be attending high school here. The only thing that saved my student was the advocacy teacher-most of the other teachers could have cared less. Forget about the counselors-they are too overworked and not very helpful. This is public school and unless we vote for more taxes to help it will only get worse. :(
--Submitted by a parent

Maria Carillo provides a solid and challenging academic education and has many high quality, caring teachers. The drama department and the cross country/track teams are fantastic. MCHS has been very effective at preparing my own kids for a brilliant college carreer. After four years at MCHS, my children successfully got into top colleges. Thank you MCHS!
--Submitted by a parent

MCHS is an outstanding public school where most staff and teachers and counselors really care about the students if your students themselves care about their commitment to education and parents care about supporting their kids. Your students will then be much better prepared for the vigorous work and expectations of college level. So parents and students, don't complain but instead get involved yourself and work hard and you will get what you work for! I have two girls who graduated from MCHS with top honors and are doing well in college because they worked hard, and of course with the help and support from the teachers/staff.. They got the most out of their time at MCHS.
--Submitted by a parent

I am a recently graduated alumnus of Maria Carrillo High School and it provided me with the best education in the Santa Rosa area that I could have possibly hoped for. After my freshman year at nearby Rancho Cotate High, an abysmal school in Rohnert Park, I transferred to Carrillo. The performing arts and music programs are exceptional (I especially recommend the choir program, in which the teacher is truly dedicated to music and her students), the academics are challenging and beyond adequately prepare students for college, and the sports are very good without disrupting academic life. The staff, with notable standouts, really care about the students and become mentors to them through and beyond high school. The clubs are well-rounded, there is a lack of violence in and around the school, the arts and sports are excellent, and the school excels academically- it was a superlative high school experience.
--Submitted by a student

I attend Maria Carrillo and I am currently finishing up a year where I took AP Chemistry, Honors English, Honors World History, and Trigonometry (I am only a sophomore). I do have trouble keeping up acceptable grades, and the teachers expect WAY more from you than at other high schools. The campus is lovely, and the littering problem has been getting better. There is a recycling club, and it also helps with the litter. The clubs present are very well-rounded; there is a Swing dance club, a Chess club, the Junior Statesman of America, Amnesty International, the Travel Club, and various other clubs. The student body does not have much school spirit, though. Instead, they engage in world affairs by selling peace t-shirts, and informing every one of what is happening in the world, and what we can do to change it. The athletics are top-notch.
--Submitted by a student

MCHS is an excellent, academic oriented high school. However, it is too crowded because students from other areas want to attend Maria Carrillo. The school is 'maxed out' each year and this impacts the student/teacher ratio. The school likes the additional ADA money so they are just fine with the additional students. The school lacks good classes for its B & C students and these kids seem to fall by the wayside. The principal seems to also only care about the honors and AP students and the schools API scores.
--Submitted by a parent

MCHS is an outstanding high school with just outstanding teachers, administration, academics and sports. I maintain 4.0 GPA with 1 Honors and 2 AP classes and love the challenge! A wide variety of sports plus classes suitable for anyone with three different tiers. As a student I have seen many students who don't do their work, they are rude to the teachers, etc...and they struggle. If they signed up for academic (normal) classes and did their work theres no question that MCHS could be a breeze for them. I highly recommend MCHS despite what some parents have said on here. To compare what a parent said 2 months ago; 'The difference between AP and Academic is very slim'...Your child must not be in an AP class. AP Classes at MCHS have up to 2 hours of homework a night compared to 10-30 minutes of homework in an Academic class. ;)
--Submitted by a student

If you child is not academically focused you may want to consider choosing another school. My second child is having a very difficult time at Maria Carrillo. There is very little support for the child who needs extra help with home/in class work. There are three levels of classes you can take at this school. First being AP, second academic, and third being survey. The difference between AP and academic is very slim and the survey classes are just holding stations for disciplinary problems. No average child that is struggling would want to be put in one of the survey classes. That leaves very little choice for that child.
--Submitted by a parent

My son entered this school as a junior. He came from an academic high school, so we thought the schools would be similar. There are three tiers of core classes: AP, academic and survey. The survey classes are generally warehouses for students with discipline problems. The principal has chronic poor parent communication; we only receive a quarterly mailed newsletter, despite his ongoing collection of parent e-mails and stated interest of communicating electronically. The school website is virtually useless, and has never used the posted calendar to inform users. For example, when homecoming was postponed there was no announcement about the cancellation or a new date. Parent involvement focuses on raising money for undefined goals. The school has some dedicated teachers who demonstrate creativity and commitment to help students reach their goals.
--Submitted by a parent