Alpharetta High School

I am so glad that my daughter will be attending a new school next year. The teachers are horrible, the staff is unresponsive and not helpful and the principle is a joke! There are way too many fights at the school and a total lack of security. Their grading system is a mess and the teachers never update the site so that you know where your child stands with their grades and where they need to improve - why even have a system when they never utilize it!?
--Submitted by a parent

This is very sad that the students are so unhappy at this school. Please get organized and have more parent involvement. This is terrible. Where is the school pride. What is happening here?

A below average student doesn't get much encouragement or help from the teachers. An average student who wants to do better won't get help either. Councelors don't do a good job with schedules or preparing for college. Fitting in at AHS may be tough for some, it is very cliquish. Have self esteem and the attittude, you don't need to fit and you'll be fine. There are a few bad crowds, my advice as a parent, pay close attention to your child and address any issues immediately. Teachers, principles pay too much attention to little things that are typical for teenagers but the big things like peer pressure, obscene language and certain public display of affection is overlooked. There is a racial problem when it comes to teachers toward the student's. Black girls can't do things or wear things that white girls can. Saying all that, if your child is a good child and is an average or above average student with a strong belief is themself will be fine. Look into extra carricular activities. But don't forget to address any issues immediately.
--Submitted by a parent

As a senior at AHS I have mixed opinions on the school. There are some VERY good teachers (mainly in the TAG department which is dying off with the budget cuts) and there are some very bad teachers. I have even had VERY bad teachers teach AP and honors classes which is discouraging. The rules at the school are extremely strict and the administrators get worked up over small things which go hand in hand with high school life (ie. someone throwing a paper airplane in the lunch room gets taken away by the administrators). The school seems to focus on a few students over the entire population. If 6 kids go off campus and 2 other kids get in a fight they close off an entire portion of outside lunch. The counselors are horrible especially in helping to get students into college. They are useless and other students know more about getting into college than they do. The music programs are strong and there are many clubs which would love to have more members which you can join. Overall there are many things to work on but you can get a great education there with a lot of hard work and some luck with good teachers.
--Submitted by a student

As a 10th grade student that attends Alpharetta high school, not because i'm a student saying this just to put my school down but to be truthfully honest the school is sub-par at best. the lit, science, and History aspects of the school are pitiful. The teachers dont support kids that are stuggling in their classes and the kids are failing because of these teachers that dont want to reach out and help the kids that don't exactly do well in school. besides the teaching the administration system, such as principles, vice principles, etc... is just as bad as the teachers i explained earlier. Its almost as if all of the administrators are always out to get kids that make the slightest mistakes. the math department is decent. kids are based around tight cliques as some would say, extremely hard to fit in.
--Submitted by a student

As a 10th grade student at Alpharetta High School i can honestly say that most reviews about teachers and students below are true. The science department most definetly lacks the ability to produce the amount of success that should be produced when it comes to the students. The principles are sub-par at best, none of them look you in the eye when it comes to serious conditions with people or the school itself. However, the musical department and art departments are top notch. Students most of the time can be harsh on one another, i would have to honestly say that this school is one of the hardest places to fit in properly with the other students. when i leave this school i can honestly say i will never come back to visit any teachers..they don't even know my name.
--Submitted by a student

This school has a lot of bad kids, teachers, and is an overall bad atmosphere.
--Submitted by a parent

AHS is a great school. The facilities are good, there is a great racial, cultural, and political diversity among the students, and a great deal of clubs for all interests. For students who want to do well and work hard, the vast majority of the AP teachers are fantastic. I have no doubts in my mind that at least for the top students, the quality of education is comparable to private schools (without the disadvantages of private schools, like expense, limited diversity, social elitism, etc.). The school's biggest asset is the TAG (talented and gifted) department, a group six teachers who are all helpful, knowledgeable, and brilliant teachers who truly care about their students.
--Submitted by a student

My son's 9th grade math teacher (a wrestling coach) explained to my son and husband, 'There are two kinds of hypotenuses. The one you use in math with triangles and the one you use in science with experiments.' Need I say more? (not only are many of the teachers sub-par, the administration thinks they're running a juvenile detention center - guilty until proven innocent.
--Submitted by a parent

Because all the teachers are really nice and they can help.
--Submitted by a student