Freedom High School

I'm thinking about relocating to Orlando next year and looking for a high school for my daughter. I'm truly impressed with what I've read so far

School is clean and safe looking. One of my daughter graduated with little complain. The past two years I'm hearing complains of many student and my other daughter on lack of communication and possible profiling on certain students. I can tell you I did not get a fast email respond and/or phone call message return from ??? until I requested front desk office to pass me to someone I can speak too (I have Email/calls to show if anyone questions me). Dress code is getting out of hand, to my understanding certain students are getting picked on and on some for what seems proper dressing but not to the school. My daughter called me in to school for a dress code, which I had to snap a picture of because her shorts was up to the proper level. The school personal complaint was the hole on the bottom (styled at proper level) which is covered and you cannot see skin. My understanding, many students have been moved to other schools for low grades. The school is a "A" and they want to keep it that way. So I filed a compalint with Florida Education Department. Their are other issues I've heard from and about student. !Speak up and stop the bulling!
--Submitted by a parent

I got expelled from freedom in august of 2009, I felt a bit mistreated but then again who wouldn't in my position, Freedom is a nice school, you have a mix of all different ethnic back rounds that attend there as well, But after my expulsion i had to take online courses (FLVS) which i am still taking (2 year expulsion). All of my buddies say that they wouldn't think twice about making the transition (They Obviously Don't Like The Administrators). Im saying, if your reading this and have problems with freedom, Withdrawal and take online courses. It's not worth trying to work things out with the school.
--Submitted by a student

My son is a Sophomore and very involved in the arts and music programs. he has caring teachers, is motivated (cant get him to come home some days) and would not dream of going anywhere else. I got a call from the 10th grade counselor today and was impressed by her dedication and courtesy. The campus is clean and my son feels safe there. Only problem so far was his math teacher last year-he did not seem to get along with her but other than that, we are glad we stayed.
--Submitted by a parent

I m currently a junior at Freedom and I have to say I love it here. The guidance department is well run, though there are strict rules to abide by, but it is for the best. I personally don t like most of the rules but we are still kids and discipline is necessary. Otherwise who would be running the school? I would like to say, most parents that leave their reviews aren't speaking their mind but more of their child's. With that being said most kids speak of the bad and not the good, to their parents. This then affects the view of the school in their parents mind. The school is excellent; the students are very diverse but great, though my only concern is that we have many 'older' teachers that should have been done with their careers by now. But this isn t the schools fault, its the public schooling system.
--Submitted by a student

My son is currently a senior there. I have very mixed feelings about this school. I am happy to see the foucs on getting more kids into Advanced and AP courses, instead of just on the lower performing students. My son does feel comfortable and safe there. I think the new principal is a real improvement, and give him kudos for bringing the grade up to a B. However I think he is very out of touch with reality with some things, as exhibited by his ban on PDA - come on, these are teenagers - what do you think they do after school? My biggest complaint is that there is almost no guidance provided to get the kids ready for college. The counselors will advise if asked, but there are no guidelines or timelines to let the students know when they should be taking tests and filling out applications,
--Submitted by a parent

My duaghter goes to freedom and she say,'I am a junior at freedom and proud to say i hate it there.If i had the choice to leave i would. Most of the teachers are okay. The administration isnt so well. We get in trouble for the littlest things. The principal, dont like at all! Freedom shouldnt be called Freedom, because theres no Freedom what so ever.'
--Submitted by a parent

This school is exceptionally high in its standards and my children are in a safe environment. I don't like the ghetto schools so to parents out there pondering on the idea, make that decision to place your child there you wont be disappointed. My daughters self esteem went up so high from being here and all students and staff are very friendly. My son likes photography and daughter love drama and chorus she feels she can truly express herself and teachers have the students best interest at heart.
--Submitted by a parent

Its a great school. the teachers are awesome, the school itself looks very nice and everything is very under control
--Submitted by a student

I have/had 3 students at FHS. The difficulties for this school's administrators (besides the typical for all large high schools) is the multi-cultural challenges. The school has a large 'english as a second language' group coming from South America and the carib. Helping non english speaking kids integrate and learn is a challenge. The population tends to separate along those lines creating two schools, and I think it's the main reason this school rates poorly on FCAT. Regarding the last posters comment about teachers; I agree. Quality of teachers at the High School level is disappointing. However, I wouldn't single out FHS on that. This is a problem for all public schools everywhere. Union tenure is more important than performance and you typically find older 'worn out' teachers in the High Schools. Administrators have their hands tied.
--Submitted by a parent