Plainfield South High School

I have never looked forward to coming to school. There have been cops waiting outside the lunchroom, and around the school because of suspected gang activity. I do not feel safe here and it's just a negative environment. The staff hides all of these problems from the parents! South is not a good school, if you're moving to the Plainfield area, look in the other attendance zones.
—Submitted by a student

Great school. Better than the other schools in town. The principle is amazing.
—Submitted by a parent

Plainfield south is a great school it will help your child become independent. Plainfield south also helps your child get into a better school than many other plainfield schools.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm digusted with this school as well as Meadowview. I came from a Naperville School District and feel like my children now attend romper room. Its a complete joke. I would not recommend these schools..
—Submitted by a parent

I'm a current student at PSHS and have so far been happy here. Lately, we have experienced problems with fighting, but it has been dealt with wonderfully by the staff and especially the principal. The academics have improved every year that I have been here, but the extracurriculars have stayed the same. Yes, the teachers are young, but it is not always a negative thing. There are some who are hard to take seriously because they try to be your friend first, but they are knowlegeable about what they are talking about. My biggest problem is that not all the teachers go by what they teach. Puncuality and responsibility is stressed, especially in the honors/AP classes, but teachers can be very long in returning papers or getting out information.
—Submitted by a student

Well, I graduated from PSHS, so let me just get to it. Pros: The principal, extracurriculars/sports, fine arts department, school spirit, and most staff (I had some amazing teachers, most at the junior level). Cons: Academic standards are low. I took all honors and AP classes, and I can safely say there were a lot of kids in those classes who should not have been. Also, the young teachers are awful, because most are inexperienced and care more about seeming 'cool' to the students rather than challenging them and actually teaching them.

One thing you have to realize is that the high school is in western Joliet, which is one of the most rapidly growing cities in the country. People moving to the community move here for the cheap housing, have no interests beyond TV, and spend a lot of their lives commuting. High school is the culmination of years of poor academics in Plainfield's overcrowded grade schools. My son is a junior, and he is barely capable of writing a complete sentence. Yet, he gets passed along with mediocre grades. The school system is a real failure. Buying a property in this school system was the stupidest thing that I ever did in my life.
—Submitted by Willard Losinger, a parent

I am a parent of two students at South. One a Senior and another a Sophomore. I have never experienced a school with such school spirit! The teachers are new and young, which I feel is advantageous. They are willing to go the extra mile and accommodate the students. Since Plainfield is growing there will be some glitches that will surface in the years to come. However, I think Plainfield South's staff is up for the challenge and committed to give our students a well rounded, good education. Go Cougars!
—Submitted by a parent

The school itself is nice, and it offers many athletics and extracurricular opportunities. The programs are good. However, many of the teachers are young and so called 'honors/AP' classes fall far below expectations (I say that as I senior who has been in them all 4 years). Also, the counselors are terrible and can not do their basic job of helping create high school schedules and preparing students for college. There is a lot of school spirit and the principle is amazing. I have seen both good and bad things in the past four years.
—Submitted by a student

I go to PSHS and would like to share that it is an amazing school with some of the best people running it and teaching it. The music program is one of the best in the confrence and in the state.
—Submitted by a student

This is a decent school. It offers nothing special in extracurricular activities or classes. It has good computer classes. Parents seem to be rarely involved.
—Submitted by a former student

Overall I believe it is a good school. As a single parent it is hard for me to be involved. I do make an effort to communicate with the teachers. My son is receiving As and Bs so far.
—Submitted by a parent

Plainfield schools have gone way down in quality of education. My eldest, college freshman, was not prepared well by PSHS for college. At PSHS she was in nearly all honors/AP classes,in the top 5% of graduating class. Now she is barely passing her first semester at college. If she truly earned A's in her honors/AP science and math classes then I like to know why she does not understand the same courses at the college. Plainfield is not holding up to its reputation. The students are not learning that they can't all be the best. This goes throughout the district. Kids are coddled. Kids aren't learning to work hard for grades.
—Submitted by a parent

I personally think that there is alot of parental involvement. There are alot of students in sports. All of the classes are taught by young but very wise and energetic teachers. I can say for myself that I know them personally cause I am a student at this school. Also, there is soo much school spirit! Its wonderful. I hope I helped.
—Submitted by a student

Hello everyone. PSHS is a very good school. I am a former student, I was there for two and a half years. The faculty is excellent, there's not that many schools that actually care for their students. Not to mention I witnessed it first-hand myself. I was very known by everyone there. Yes there are going to be gangs, you have people moving from everyone coming to the joliet/plainfield area. A lot of people do not like the fact that there are a lot more african americans attending the school. But over the last years I've been there, we are growing rapidly at a steady pace. I like to see a diverse integrated school in the suburbs. Everyone is treated the same there. I have a younger brother that goes there and he's doing excellent, he's actually learning something new everyday. So i recommend this school to anyone and everyone.
—Submitted by alaina scarborough, a former student

I have 6 kids that attend PSHS and I have had my ups and downs with the school. I have been very involved with my children school but I really have a problem with the teacher at South. I give it to teachers that they have to take alot from some student, but I don't think that some of the teacher are perpared to handled them, if you want a child to give you respect expecially in high school they also in return will depand respect back and that were the teacher at south are missing they get in kids faces and say stuff to them that I as a parent would never say to my kid. I love plainfield and I think it has alot to offer a student, but something has to be done with the student and teacher and faculty relations.
—Submitted by a parent

PSHS has a lot to offer the students of Plainfield/Joliet area. Yes it is a large school but your child can be an intergral part of the learning community. PSHS does not create bad behavior or gangs. The students who are causing the trouble brought it with them. My daughter has attended PSHS for four years and has had many opportunities to excell in academnics (Honor,AP classes, and plus regular classes), sports and to participate in a variety of after school clubs and programs. Yes some of the staff is young and inexperienced but what do you excpect when a district is growing by more than 2500 students per year. Parents need to step up to the plate and expect greatness from their child and they will recieve greatness from their child.
—Submitted by a parent

The quality of Plainfield South is on the up and up! I just started going there this year and I love it! I was so scared going in there my first day, and they made me feel great! We're having to switch over to Central schools soon with the boundary change. I only hope that they do the same. Although the band program is a different story! That's all the worst I can say though. Other than that I'll always be a cougar at heart!
—Submitted by a student

In response the August 2004 comment: 'Perhaps sometimes they should train the teacher's in how to be a parent away from home intead of just handing out citations.' FYI: The teachers should not be the parent of 3,000 kids, and if there was no discipline, the students would run rampant. However, many teachers are caring and end up taking the role of a parent. There are parent education classes through the district to delegate that responsibility. The teachers work hard at teaching and the counselors and social workers do an excellent job helping students with other stressors that interfere with learning. PSHS is a fairly new school, but it has begun to develop a positive culture.
—Submitted by a staff

In reference to the May, 2004 parent. Every school has issues to deal with. It is not just the Plainfield schools. Parenting comes from the parents. Teaching comes from the teachers, who are way under payed might I add. My children are not at High School level yet, but one will be in 3 years. I have helped out in my other sons 1st grade class and let me tell you, there were some kids in there that needed more than and education. I felt so bad for the teacher to have an entire day with some of these children, but she was very patient and my son learned a great deal from her. I can not praise these teachers enough.
—Submitted by Jan Barkby, a parent