Walton Comprehensive High School

Having had 2 children go through Walton, I'd like to offer my perspective. How Walton is viewed depends on each family's situation. Walton will not be a great fit for every child. Perhaps because of the community it serves, Walton is not geared to serve students who are unsure about whether or not they want to attend college - those students will find little support and guidance by attending the school. Rather, Walton's forte is providing college-bound students with rigorous courses and tremendous extracurricular opportunities. The school profile makes this very clear - Walton expects that all students will pursue a post-secondary education and so endeavors to provide a rigorous education that prepares student for any college. A high number of students do go on to Ivy League universities from Walton. However, I've found that the school also is a great fit for those students wanting to go to UGA, Tech, GSU or any other state universities. My youngest daughter, in fact, after going through Walton WITHOUT taking all honors/AP courses found UGA a breeze and graduated with honors. She really thrived in a peer environment where college was the norm, not the exception.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a senior at Walton High School. It is a thoroughly a terrible school. If you are not in all honors and AP classes, your student will be ridiculed by all their friends who are. The math curriculum does not work and the math teachers are incapable and incompetent. The band director refuses to recognize that marching band is not the students' first and only priority in life. There is one bright spot though: the science teachers are excellent.
—Submitted by a student

If you want your kids to be the best of the best send them to Walton. If you want your children to be Mediocre, any other Cobb school should do the trick.

If I had it to do over again, I would not have sent my son to Walton. Walton is a good school for a lot of really, really smart and motivated kids, and their music programs are world-class. However, my son is highly intelligent but not self-motivated, with a learning disability(dyslexia), and this school has done absolutely nothing to help. Many teachers, staff, and especially the guidance counselors are condescending and outright rude to the students and sometimes parents. As others have said, some of the teachers are wonderful, but unfortunately they are overshadowed by a pervasive atmosphere of superiority and disdain for average kids. I personally observed a staff member berating a student in front of others - it made me very uncomfortable. My son's 2.5 GPA, which puts him in the bottom 10% of the class, would be a 3.0 somewhere else in the middle of the class, negatively impacting his college opportunities. If your kid is a superstar and you don't care how much pressure they're under, and you accept the suicide statistics, then go for it. But If your child falls in the middle, I advise sending them to another highly-rated yet more accepting school nearby.
—Submitted by a parent

I graduated from Walton and recently from UGA. Academically, the school is very good and prepares you well for higher education. However, if you are not smart enough for all AP and honors courses, your student will be taught by coaches and not be sufficiently prepared. The biggest problem with Walton is its lack of diversity and heavy drug culture among many of its students(Rich kids have money to buy drugs). Overall, I wished my parents had not saught out living in East Cobb to attend Walton and live in its cookie cutter bubble.

I'm a student at Walton and I love it. I'm in the band, many clubs, AP classes, etc. and there aren't too many bad things to say. The only problems are: some really bad science, math, and language teachers (but some are amazing, it's just which you end up with) and getting overstressed with 8-9 AP's a year. It's tough, but a lot of students go onto Ivy league schools.
—Submitted by a parent

It is a great school for academics. There is a lot of school spirit!!
—Submitted by a parent

I am a senior here and I love it here! I will admit that this is not an easy school and isn't a great choice for slackers - good grades are not exactly handed out on a silver platter here so be prepared to work hard. But, my academic and extracurricular experiences have been phenomenal and as a result, I've developed a good sense of how to prioritize and meet several deadlines simultaneously. I will be attending Duke in the fall and firmly believe that the life skills and knowledge that I've picked up at Walton will prepare me well for college and the rest of my life.
—Submitted by a student

We moved into the Walton school district from Cherokee county last year so our children could attend this school. We have lived in the metro area for a long time so I wanted to share my perspective. In my opinion, what sets this school apart from others in the area is the expectations and vision of the school staff, the parents, and the students themselves. When we visited the school, we found that the school benchmarked itself against the best schools across the nation in determining curriculum and school priorities, which no other school did. The caliber of students and their accomplishments was also extremely impressive, with numerous sports titles, academic awards and kids that seemed to be all around well balanced and motivated. The college matriculation data feels like it comes straight out of a private school and sealed the deal for us.
—Submitted by a parent

As a parent of WHS senior, I can say my son has had a great experience during his time here. Prior to moving to this district a few years ago, my son had been in private school his entire life so despite the school's solid reputation, we were still concerned if the school would be challenging enough for him. Very quickly we found that our biggest worry was actually if our son could handle his challenging courses and lacrosse schedule! To say this school has been rigorous would be an understatement but my son's hard work recently paid off in an early acceptance to an Ivy. As parents, we are grateful for the work ethic Walton has instilled in our son and would recommend this school to other parents like us who have high expectations for their children.
—Submitted by a parent

I had two children graduate from WHS and one there now. My daughter that graduated from UGA with honors, told me that WHS prepared her as well or better than some of her friends who attended the expensive Buckhead private schools! The parental involvement is extremely important and a big reason for the student success. The faculty is the other reason. There's no doubt why this is the premier school in the state and why our property values have risen even in this recession. Everyone wants to go to WHS...for good reason.
—Submitted by a parent

I graduated from Walton two years ago and am attending college in California right now. From my experience, in order to understand Walton you have to understand the community it serves. This is an area filled with lawyers, doctors, CEOs, etc. and their high expectations for their own children are reflected in the school's academic and athletic accomplishments. As several posters have already pointed out, there were no shortage of people aiming for (and gaining entrance into( Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, etc. (myself included) during my four years there. Not surprisingly, this school has been cited by Time, U.S. News, Newsweek, and Atlanta magazine for its high parental involvement as well as highly intense student body. Of course, this intensity can also have its downside - too many students over stress themselves by trying to be 'perfect' in everything they are involved in (whether AP classes, sports, clubs, community service, etc.)
—Submitted by a student

This is a great school. This is my first year here, and I'm a sophmore. I love it. Pros: Great teachers, WEB days, not extremely cliquish, very rigorous Cons: Too many bratty kids, too many kids: over 2,000??
—Submitted by a student

My son just started Walton as a freshman after attending private school in Buckhead for the past three years. From what I've seen so far, I am INCREDIBLY impressed with the academic environment in Walton. His classmates/new friends are all high-achieving and many would like to go to Ivy League type universities. While each child is different, I can vouch that any parent with highly ambitious children will feel right at home in this district.
—Submitted by a parent

Walton is wonderful. I am proud to be a Walton Raider! I've grown up in East Cobb all my life, and never have I felt such school spirit, or the determination to succeed until I entered Walton. I love it.
—Submitted by a teacher

I am a senior at Walton, and have attended there since my freshman year. I'm not going to say it's easy because it isn't. Walton's tough, but excellent nonetheless. Your child will be extremely prepared for college upon graduation. However, one con would be the impact the reputation has on some students. Being that it's a very tough school, and that the top 15% of the class all have 4.0's, it is very easy to let yourself believe that you aren't as good of a student as others because of your GPA or SAT score. The main advise I give to that is not to worry, and to do your personal best. Many colleges in the southeast know Walton's reputation and understand that a student can have a 3.5 and have worked just as hard as other students from other schools with 4.0's.
—Submitted by a student

Pros: not extremely cliquish, rigorous curriculum, many students are driven and dedicated, heavy emphasis on college prep Cons: large and impersonal, too much competition, large portion of spoiled, bratty ric teenagers
—Submitted by a student

Most reviewer seem to have a problem with the state curriculum and not the school itself. I have been to many schools in the US and this was by far the hardest, best, friendliest, and all together great school have ever been to. This is not a school for parents who want their kids to be 'coddled' by the teachers. This is a hard school that prepares students for any type of college. If students have a hard time here they are not ready for the challenges of a top ranking college.
—Submitted by a student

My son graduated from Walton a few years ago and will graduate from a top university this year. He will be applying to law school later this year. As his mother, I was/am a bit surprised at how my son was able to succeed in such a rigorous environment where half the students attended private school - I remember being worried sick his first year in college over how well he might adjust. Indeed, like some other parents here, I had some concerns about the competitive nature of Walton a few years ago when I noticed my school falling asleep while doing his homework. In hindsight, while I do agree the workload at times at Walton is a bit excessive, I am grateful that Walton prepared my son for the real world, where the ability to work well under pressure is a must.
—Submitted by a parent

A very good school for students who respond well to pressure to perform academically. A map outside the guidance office pinpoints where Walton grads end up...Harvard, Yale, Brown, Stanford are not uncommon. Kids less academically inclined can easily fall through the cracks.
—Submitted by a parent