Old Mill High School

We are a military family, my children have attended eight different schools so far. OMHS is the worst one ever. We will be moving early to get away from this school. It is not military-friendly at all. The school has no leadership and teachers are never held accountable. My children's education has suffered.
—Submitted by a parent

I have two children that unfortunately attend OMHS. My son took three AP classes last year- the teachers were not qualified to teach the class. I asked if my son could take the class online and the school said no. They would not work with us. They were only concerned with the numbers game not the children...ex. we offer 20 AP classes (only 5 of them are quality classes though) My son has been bullied and harassed at the school and the staff does NOTHING. If my child had a choice between dropping out and attending...seriously consider dropping out- this school will only harm your child and the principal does not care. The gangsters run this school don't let the staff tell you otherwise.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is absolutely poor Bad Teachers students and staff Rate -10 out of 10
—Submitted by a student

This school is so unorganized. It has too many students. The kids practically run the school.. When I was there they had so many fights and people setting trash cans on fire. It was ridiculous. I was glad to graduate in 09 .And also you do not learn alot, the teachers are mediocre.I rather go to Baltimore City Schools, at least I can learn things. And by the way its like a prison, No windows, "OD" patrolling the school, and those wanna be security people walking the hallways does'nt help. Like I said the students ran that school.
—Submitted by a student

My son is in 10th grade there. He has been tested gifted and talented yet they refuse to even try and meet his needs. He is discouraged and doesn't care about school anymore because the teachers don't care and the school doesn't care. The school doesn't seem to make efforts to encourage kids that may be having difficulties. Despite all of that, I am most upset with the quality of the education. It is horrocious! My neice in VA who is 10 years old with a learning disability is more educated than a 10th grader at this school. I've even visited my son's classes (honors) and they read the information to them instead of making them read the book on their own. They even hand out tests and then give them the answers before they turn them in! I was shocked! I can't wait to move!
—Submitted by a parent

I will admit that there are alot of fights but peolpe have to learn you cant become friends with everybody. The teachers are really great and they do the very best they can makin sure every student understands the concept. There are so many electives and sports to choose from.
—Submitted by a student

I went to old mill high for my freshman year 09-10 and now im transfering to somewheres else because I no longer feel safe. The prinicipal just seems to care about us putting our electronic devices away and hats and hoods off and really nobody pays attention because in Jan I had to take a test in Geometry and we had a substittute teacher and kids were texting through out the test and I couldn't concentrate. Plus there are too many kids as it about 2400 now how can you keep track of 2400 kids.
—Submitted by a student

Old mill is a really great school with a lot good teachers and the IB program. The IB program is very well organized and I am really enjoying it although the work is a little lengthy.
—Submitted by a student

Old Mill is a wonderful school for students who are in upper placement classes (AP, IP, Honors), and I can attest to this personally. However, I will be the first to admit there are many students who fall through the cracks. The school has made great strides in improving upper level courses, especailly with the addition of the IB program in 2004, however; the school needs to address problems on the other end of the spectrum. As advice to parents, keep an eye on the placement level of your kids, try to keep them in level 3 classes or higher, I found this is where the most attention is placed. Further, encourage kids to participate in extracurricular programs, OMHS has a wide variety. I know, by participating in sports I definetly enriched my high school expereince.
—Submitted by a student

The international baccalaureate (ib) curriculum at OMHS is a great course for students. The teachers seem to really care about the IB kids. However, there are some teachers and faculty who do not really have the best methods for getting things done. And yes, the school is very crowded. Also, it would be nice to have lockers issued to everyone and not have to carry your things everywhere.
—Submitted by a student

Old Mill is a very poor school and has many incompetent teachers. When my child brought home a grade sheet that showed NHI (not handed in) I confronted him. He showed me the graded papers. We then turned the back to the teacher who apologized, but his grade was never corrected. It was difficult and the only way I could get teachers to communicate with me was to go through the principal. During the two years my son was at the school it did more damage than good to him and there were only 2 teachers that made any effort to truly teach or help students.
—Submitted by a parent

Old Mill High is a good school. It is not a preppy rich kid school, and nor is it a run-down school. I would say that Old Mill is better than many schools in the county. Our sports teams are awsome, especially in wrestling, whereas this season (2008-2009), we won two state titles. Our football team and basketball team are consistently rising in the state. Our baseball team (and track) also have quite a history in winning state titles. As far as academics go, this school offers challenging courses, with most teachers caring about students and grades. At the AP level, most teachers are dependable. I will admit that there are a few teachers however, that are not so great at teaching, luckly, you can very likely switch teachers if the parent gets involved. You get what you put in. Push your kids to try hard and they'll be rewarded.
—Submitted by a student

Teachers will go the extra distance to help the student excel if the student is willing to show an interest. Old Mill High School prepared my child for the 'real world' through a nurturing atmosphere. My child excels in a major university because of the education they received at Old Mill.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is very unorganized and has too many students to keep track of. they do not have proactive procedures in place and not many of the teachers actually genuinely care about taking ownership to insure the well being of the students.
—Submitted by a parent

I loved this school. It has developed an amazing steel drum band with a teacher that really cares about the students. The drama program is one of the best in the area. There are so many extra curricular activities and there really is a great sense of community.
—Submitted by a student

Old Mill High School has a lot of activities for the students. I am a current and student and the classess are very nice. However the school really is crowded, but you have to consider the fact that there are 2 middle schools adjoined to the Old Mill Complex. So once eighth graders graduate then they automatically go to the high school. I liked the transition because I still saw most of my friends in middle school.
—Submitted by a student

I truly believe that Old Mill offers so much to their students. But I am truly upset with the enrollment, I feel that the school is over crowded and when is the Board of Education going to realize this. Isn't there a limit of students the school can hold? When is there going to be to many? So many of the students that are going there aren't suppose to be there to begin with.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is way to crowded. We have some awsome teachers, then there are those who arent that good. But you will find that in all schools. Our principal is working hard to improve our school. Over all its not that bad of a school
—Submitted by a student

I'm a student at Old Mill High and it really has great teacher's,but the school has way to many people inrolled. You are walking down the halls and it feels like youjust walked into a heard of elefints. If you don't mind being in a school full of people then yes It's nice. I was a new student and I made so many new frinds it amazing.Hope you like the school as much as I do
—Submitted by a student

I am currently a student at old mill,and i really love it. Even though the school is over 50 percent white,the classrooms,and the overall atmosphere's really diverse. At this school, theres no way you can go a whole day without socializing with a different ethnic group. As far as education, this school has so many opportunities. I am an IB student, and its a great program to be in, and looks really good on your transcript. There are SO MANY sports and extracurriculars here, it's hard NOT to get involved in something.The student are great, and almost everyone has a group that they fit in to. Most of my teachers are cool, and the administration tries really hard to keep everything running in an orderly fashion, and for the most part they succeed. Anyone who is bashing OMHS, probably is or has a kid with a bad attitude towards this school.
—Submitted by a student