West Side Senior High School

Great environment with no bullies (that I knew of) and very little instances of drug use. I knew, liked, and felt liked by pretty much all of the students there. The teachers genuinely cared about students. The school played a significant role in leading the state to put college distant learning programs in the schools. There is great community support who helped passed school bonds for years to build much better facilities than would be expected at a school of this size. As would be expected in a small town school, some teachers were sub-par in their ability to teach. Others were excellent. All teachers seemed genuinely interested in the success of their students.
—Submitted by a student

this school is dirty they do not clean it ah.. the bathrooms make me sick no cleaning team what so ever ahhh.. and the locker rooms are way dirty no soap in the bathrooms to wash my hands even... this school should be shut down. ahhhhhhhh..... in the boys bathroom and locker room there is urine on the floor the school dose not even clean it up how dirty it smells.. this school smells
—Submitted by a student

Thinking about relocating to this area. I am puzzled to see such negative reviews when the test scores and great school rating indicate a positive learning environment.

There is no leadership, students have no advocate, except for 1 counselling adviser and his hands are tied. It's all about the Principals teachers, his friends. The students are given little direction, bare all the responsibly for their education and these teachers for the most part can't teach, and hold your students hostage. The teaching is below average the homework just piles up. The dress codes are very strict, I liked that. No cells can be carried by students, and I disagree with this. That same adviser is great at getting scholarships and the school excels at college online courses. However as far as teaching and learning? Very sad.
—Submitted by a parent

Melvin Beutler is a good superintendent and he has done his best to provide creative outlets and extracurricular activities that appeal to a small, but diverse student base. The school has made great strides to achieve college accreditation. Parents are very involved in every aspect of the school from school lunch to high school band and choir to sporting events. West Side High School is NOT a place for children to learn nor parents to participate in their children s actual education. The teachers can't teach, hand out homework, over burden students and your children have no one that will stand up for them, they are pretty much on their own and many are very discouraged. My children are better off being home schooled, at least they get real instruction, and know that I care. However the students are pretty nice, and I have not seen any bullies. FFA seems to be good.
—Submitted by a parent

West Side High School is a very family-oriented school that excels in providing the highest quality of education with little funding and state and federal support. Melvin Beutler is a marvelous superintendent that has done his best to provide creative outlets and extracurricular activities that appeal to a small, but diverse student base. They have made marvelous strides to achieve college accreditation without much help or support. Parents are very involved in every aspect of the school from school lunch to high school band and choir to sporting events. One of the premier schools in the 2A category, overachieves in every aspect. West Side High School is a terrific place for children to learn and parents to participate in their childrens education.
—Submitted by a former student