Ottawa Hills High School

As a retired Grand Rapids Public Schools high school teacher (28 years of service) it saddens me to rate Ottawa Hills High School with 1 star. Certainly there were dedicated students, parents, administrators and teachers. But their numbers are depressingly low. I continue to hope for the very best for Ottawa, but candidly the future does not look bright. One has only to spend 5 minutes standing in any hallway during class change to understand the seriousness and depth of the problems facing Ottawa. Perhaps a better indicator is the amazingly low number of parents who bother to show up for their own child s parent/teacher conferences. I truly hope I am proven wrong and Ottawa makes a quick and paradigm shifting change for the better. Go Bengals!

I am a parent of a student at OHHS. I feel that the school has potential to be one of the best in Grand Rapids. There are some issues that need to be handled. Kids should not be allowed to roam the halls as much as they do, security needs to be tighter, attitudes of staff need to adjusted, and more control in the classrooms is needed.
--Submitted by a parent

I am currently a student attending OHHS and i believe that Ottawa truly has the potential to be at the top as well as any other school does. For the adults who claim that there is no hope for our school, this shows how much support we have. I am a student who has earned my 4.0 gpa and i dont believe that because there are bad apples in the bunch we should all be classified as hopeless children. Parents should remember that it all starts at home. Teachers arent there to babysit your children but they ARE there to teach. I think that if our community actually cared about the children in it, we would be able to raise test scores, and eventually have our students passing. i know there's more to it but at a broad scale this is what i see.
--Submitted by a student

I feel that there should be a higher level of respect for all involved within Ottawa Hills. The principal, who acts childish at times, needs to buckle down more. They need to have security at all doors within the school so that middle school children, who skip school, don't roam the halls, as if they were students. Some of the security people are lazy and mean to the wrong children. Some of the parents are not involved enough with their kids there (Just because your child is in high school doesn't mean they don't need u) The GRPS needs to implement other ways of disciplining These kids need the proper guidance and the motivation of role models to guide them through. Also, the staff in the office, there are two in particular, who are rude and need an attitude adjustment. U have to set an example people, not a bad one.
--Submitted by a parent

the parents of the students don't get involved and thus the education ends as soon as they leave the school doors. if there is ever going to be any education going on in that school there must be education also at home. so in my opinion this is a terrible school for your students to go to. Caledonia high School is a lot better than O.H.H.S, so if you want you child to get a better education send them to a good school like C.H.S or even forest hills but defiantly no Ottawa Hills High School.
--Submitted by a parent

Being a graduate of OHHS I am glad to see that it is improving. The was a stretch in the early 2000's that I didnt know if they would be able to get out of. It starts with the administration, who now seems to be in control. It will continue to rise but the parents of the students need to take an active role in the lives of their children.
--Submitted by Brodie Larson, a former student

I believe that Ottawa Hills has the potential to be the top public school in the Grand Rapids Public Schools district. The issue is that parents are NOT involved. How can tachers be productive and really educate their students when parents don't bother to find out what's going on in their son's or daughter's education? Parental involvement in after-school programs, sports, tutuoring programs, or likewise will GREATLY increase the level of effectiveness the school has on its students.
--Submitted by a former student

I think that Ottawa Hills is a very great place to be for learning. The teachers give the students the opprtunity to learn instead of not breaking it down to them. They also make sure that the students are learning and not failing. Like other schools OHHS does need some work. We need alot of parent support because it would make the school more safer than what it is now. Also I have to commend Mr. Burt and Mrs. Allen for doing a great job with the music department.
--Submitted by Janae Couch, a student

From my experience, I learned more from attending this school than the previous private school I attended. while the school needs major improvements in the quality of the curriculum, the environment is slowly but steadily improving. however, more parental involvement is necessary in order to reach that higher level. From my experience, there are teachers that truly care and love their jobs; there are some that may not. All in all, what this school needs now is not any type of condemnation but support. It is on an incline, but without the input and support from parents, there will be a constant lack of communication and understanding. As long as there is parental involvement, OHHS has the capability of becoming a very prestigious school.
--Submitted by E. Purcell-williams, a former student

Ottawa Hills is really taking strides to improve the school.There are now currently 5 schools in the building which are New Century Montessori,9th Grade Academy,POHI,Buiseness,Leadership and Enteprenurship,and comprehensive high.This was done to make smaller schools so us students could get more one on one learning and become closer to our classmates.Overall the school has improved but there is still more things that can definetly improve like the quality of the luch program and the security.There are still a lot of kids in the school who dont come to learn but to play around and fight.The school has an excellent Band and choir program.
--Submitted by a former student