Ponderosa High School

I am so thankful to the staff and administration at Ponderosa for helping my children achieve their dreams! I currently have a Junior at PHS who will have her choice of any college she wishes to attend and is already receiving scholarship offers. I have a child in college who was completely prepared for the rigors of college classes and is ready to move on to medical school. I also have a child in grad school who received a full scholarship to the Air Force Academy and a full scholarship to grad school. Their academic success can be directly attributed to the outstanding teachers at PHS. I highly recommend Ponderosa to all parent and students!
—Submitted by a parent

The teachers at PHS are incredibly supportive of kids and their education. They also support our children emotionally, personally, and futuristically. We couldn't be happier with our experience there.
—Submitted by a parent

I have had many good conversations with teachers and admin at the school. I see lots of parents getting involved in activities. For a school that is shrinking in size due to the new school being opened I see the kids being involved as well. From the Sheriff's reports generated at the school, there are far less criminal incidents at Pondo that the other 2 Parker schools. My son has excelled in this school!
—Submitted by a parent

Ponderosa has a Caring and professional staff, with outstanding athletics and activities. I am a graduate of Ponderosa and give it a 5 out of 5!

As an alum of Ponderosa High School, I cannot possibly say enough positive praises about this school. Ponderosa pushed me to excel both academically and in community involvement during my 4 years there, earning me several hundred thousand dollars of scholarships to universities across the U.S., including a full tuition scholarship to the University of Denver. Now that I am out of school and working, I am so grateful to not be burdened by student loan payments. I still remain in contact with some of Ponderosa's top-notch teachers, and would confidently recommend Ponderosa to any student or parent. Don't be fooled by other newer schools in the area- newer does not necessarily mean better. Ponderosa is tried and true, and still offering the best option for academics and extracurriculars in Douglas County... Go Mustangs!

This is just a great school, hands down. The AP classes are second to none, and the staff will go out of their way to help students. I would have absolutely no problem recommending this school to anyone looking to send their child to a high performing high school, with great teachers, and great extracurricular activities.
—Submitted by a parent

Ponderosa is a great school in a great school district. It is a huge part of the community of Parker.
—Submitted by a parent

Although Ponderosa is the second oldest school in the county, it continues to be one of the best in preparing students for college. PHS has an excellent selection of AP classes and college credit classes. They have a great selection of extra curricular activities, giving students an opportunity to get involved. Their athletic programs are THE best in Parker, garnering 22 state championships, compared to a combined 2 among the other high schools in Parker.
—Submitted by a parent

Ponderosa has a great business department not only offering 13 well designed courses from Microsoft Office to Marketing, but classes such as Entrepreneurship and Multimedia. The Microsoft Office class offers certification in Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint. The business department also has the Apple Award winner teacher and all the business teachers have master's degrees.
—Submitted by a teacher

Both my daughters attend Ponderosa High School as Freshmen. They are excelling in their academic classes. They enjoy their art, choir and PE electives. Both are involved in the after school sports programs. They like their teachers, have challenging curricula and have grow tremendously this past year. In our family we are proud to be Mustangs!!
—Submitted by a parent

A school with great traditions. Faculty and staff are top notch. Students are prepared for college and beyond.
—Submitted by a parent

Ponderosa has turned out excellent and well prepared students. The variety of classes is great from jewelry, to auto shop, to theater, and a wide range of AP classes. The staff is caring and interested in the students that attend Ponderosa. The office staff is friendly and easy to work with. Ponderosa is a great place to have your students.
—Submitted by a parent

I am in my 13th year working at PHS and this school gets better every year! Both of my children graduated from here. Our administrative team is top notch; they are professional, intelligent, kind, and compassionate and truly care about "what is best for kids". Students are involved in a multitude of exceptional extracurricular activities. All you need to do is drive by the school and you will see cars in the parking lot, well past the end of the school day. Students excel here and go on to be responsible citizens of the world. I am proud to be a part of Ponderosa's family and would not hesitate to recommend this school to anyone looking for a safe and nurturing environment where all staff and teachers truly care about how to help all students be successful!
—Submitted by a teacher

The best overall established school within Douglas County schools!!!! The athletics department is the best overall in the district...still catering to challenging academic requirements! The History of Parker is at Ponderosa!!!!
—Submitted by a parent

I love working at Ponderosa High School. The kids are great and are truly outstanding in many areas. We have some expert teachers that guide and mentor our future generation to be successful in whatever path they may choose.
—Submitted by a teacher

Ponderosa has provided a wonderful education for both our children. My eldest transitioned to college and was wonderfully prepared. I am most impressed with the caring teachers who have gone the extra mile for my kids. We currently have one daughter at PHS, she is happy, challenged and thriving. Need I say more?
—Submitted by a parent

I have to agree with the most recent post dated June 8, 2010. My son who is a special needs student has constantly been bullied while attending this school, with no accoutability imposed by the teachers/staff to put a stop to this problem. The schedule my son was given is a repeat of PE (2nd yr) and no foreign language classes (as he is a junior this year) How is that soppose to prepare him for college? When I call to address an issue of any kind the office staff & teachers are rude. (most recently I asked if it was possible to get a schedule change & I was spoken to very rudely by a staff member) It takes an "act of congress" to transfer to another school. We've tried. I wouldn't recommend this school at all, especially if your child goes in with a learning disability/special needs.
—Submitted by a parent

Ponderosa is a horrible high school. From expierence, I am lead to believe thier administrative team members have no idea where my child is throughout the day and this causes some viable safety concerns. I went to pick up my student and was told several times she was at lunch. 20 minutes later I found her sitting in one of her classes. That is not even the beginning of it. My student was also sent away (by her treacher) from her scheduled class becasue it was too full. She was then given three PE classes back to back. She only needs one full year to graduate. It supports the view that the school is disorganized and chaotic. The school and staff are ignorant, rude and managed poorly. The athletes are treasured here and everyone else is just a fill in to meet numbers.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm a former student currently attending Duke University. That's right, this school got me into the 8th best university in the nation. The best thing about Pondo is the community. Between developing relationships with your teachers and extracurricular activities, if you get involved early and often, this school will give you so much. No, it's not one of the brand-new schools that Douglas County is churning out, but it has a better community because of that.
—Submitted by a student

A typical 'old school' mentality at Ponderosa High School. The school administrators and counselors are clueless how to deal with kids that are anywhere outside the 'traditional box!' They are a very old fashioned, uptight school with old fashioned ideas, favoring athletes over artists, etc, etc. Most of the parents are all right wing Republicans and don't want to hear any dissenting opinions. They need to update from the top down -- not a contemporary school for today's kids at all.
—Submitted by a parent