Woodstock High School

I went to Woodstock from 1994-1998. The school was very demanding academically. I echo the sentiments of one of the previous posters who stated that classes at Woodstock were harder than any of the classes I took in college. I knocked a star off because the worship of athletics, especially the football team, was a little embarassing when I was there. Also, I felt the school was rather cliquey and many teachers perpetuated the caste system by playing favorites with athletes and other favored students. I hear my college friends, who grew up closer to the city, tell me that the athletes were kind of a joke at their schools. Well at Woodstock they were looked upon as Gods.

I'm a former WHS student, and I actually miss high school. I liked almost all of the teachers I ever had. Most of the teachers care about their students and are willing to go the extra mile by coming in early or staying after school to help students with any problems they may be having. The young teachers haven t fallen into an old boring routine, and they re fresh out of school. They re perfectly competent and know how to relate to the students to make it fun to learn, but they still make it challenging. I had many great teachers, both young and old. I have participated in both honors classes and regular classes. WHS has a wide variety of extracurricular activities to choose from. There are very few violence problems; I never felt that my safety was threatened while attending WHS. The only major issue I ve had with the school is when the pep band got moved from the bleachers, where people could actually hear them, to behind the goalposts, where nobody can hear them and they just sit out there freezing. If that was my biggest problem, I think I can conclude that it s a pretty good school.
--Submitted by a student

Graduated 03'I also attended McHenry, and preferred Woodstock better. Awesome teachers, super nice principal. Great experience.
--Submitted by a student

I graduated Woodstock High School in 2004. I feel that Woodstock H.S. could not have prepared me any better for my first two years of college at the University of Illinois. I joke with my younger sisters that the academics at Woodstock were actually harder than any I have endured in college. I attended some regular classes and some honors/AP classes. I feel that teachers from both classes, young and old, were very interested in all students' performances and worked hard to keep us on track. If parents question teacher efforts, it's more likely due to their involvement as a parent. I also think we had a fair athletic department, but the funding may have been distributed unfairly. There is no question about safety at Woodstock H.S. either, it's safe.
--Submitted by a parent

The thing about district 200 schools is that the teachers are not paid very well so the faculty consists of many young and inexperienced instructors. There are some good instructors but they are not the norm. The school is too small for the amount of students they have enrolled and that will not change anytime soon. A self-motivated intelligent student will do just fine at Woodstock High School and be able to move on with little trouble. A student who needs to be pushed to succeed will have better luck somewhere else.
--Submitted by a former student

Woodstock School Staff avoids IEP for ADD and ADHD students. If you have a marginal performer the risk is high that they will drop out before graduation. While they have some good teachers, they are off set by teachers that have political agendas or view the responsiblity is the parents problem. The staff is not reliable to keep the parents informed, when asked, to intervene problem areas before it is too late. Students, Teachers & Parents have three ring circus as who is actually responsible. The student can be truint for up to three weeks before the school contact the working parents.
--Submitted by a parent

I generally agree with the September 2003 review. I hear the same horror stories from the 'general studies' students and have personnaly experienced/witnessed the cold and indifferent behavior from the principal and his staff. Maybe it is time for the employers/concerned taxpayers to contact our principals/school board to make an effective change before it is too late to regain control of our school and youth.
--Submitted by a parent

I was a student of this school and I think that it is an excellent school. There is a good diverse group of students. There are always activities going on after and before school. The teachers challange the students but not to the point of frustration and students are given freedom like adults. Once they abuse their freedom then it is taken away. Violence is kept to a min. I would recommend this school to any parent out there.
--Submitted by a student

I have two children at WHS. My oldest has received a very good education and has primarily been in honors classes. The teachers of these classes provide the atmosphere and challenges to encourage the students to go above and beyond what is expected of them. On the other hand, my youngest is not currently enrolled in any honors classes and comes home with stories about students goofing off in class, ignoring teachers requests to be quiet, and overall disrupting the entire class. It seems to me that these teachers either have no control or choose not to use the control that they should use. It's difficult for me to believe that these two children are attending the same school. There were numerous occasions last year when my oldest child and several other students, all involved in a particular extra-curricular activity, needed to speak with their advisor -- in this case, the Principal. Every time their requests were ignored by the Principal. Overall, I feel that WHS is a good school, but could be excellent with a more dynamic Principal and just a little work.
--Submitted by a parent