Athens High School

I am graduating Athens this year and overall my experience here has been great, a 9/10. Almost all my teachers were great and I've had little to no complaints, and none of them were terrible. Most of the the teachers I've had are dedicated to their jobs and were helpful when I needed them (so were the counselors). There were, however, a couple of bad apples who didn't seem to care (I can't lie!) but they are the exception rather than the norm at this school. Academically, there are a variety of AP classes to choose from and they are all rigorous, challenging and prepare you for college. There are also a wide variety of clubs, sports, and other extracurricular activities to choose from. The students themselves are also very diverse and come from all different races and backgrounds, and we all manage to get along pretty well despite this. The person below me had problems with obnoxious and annoying students, but as they mentioned if you take upper level honors and AP classes with more mature students as I did you should have less of a problem. Overall, I feel privileged to have attended such a great school as Athens and wouldn't trade the experience for anything!
—Submitted by a student

I am currently going to Athens and i must say, while the academics are great, most teachers are kind and helpful, and the counselors are always willing to give you a hand; the amount of awful students are growing. Most of the kids in the regular courses or below are just down right rude and mean to anyone that does not agree with them. most kids are spoiled out of their mind and have no sense of respect to teachers. It has greatly hindered upon my learning, when the teacher has to stop every few minutes to tell a kid to listen/stop texting/be respectful. the kids talk back constantly (i have even been in a class where one student called the teacher a female dog, right to her face). On top of that drugs run rampant through the school. If you are able to stay in the AP classes though Athens is great. like i said, the school its self is amazing, but the students are beyond awful.
—Submitted by a student

So far my son has been given the help and attention he has needed for his studies and or problems. As for other than education, there is always a parking lot problem with the kids....they either drive too fast, mess around in the lot with their vehicles...I have seen so many ALMOST accidents because of kids anticts. Complaints fell on deaf ears and they claimed there were parking lot monitors and I have never seen one yet! Bottom line, the kids are very disrespectful in the parking lot/with driivng courtesy!
—Submitted by a parent

All A rated school with top notch programs to offer to students. Everyone is involved!!
—Submitted by a parent

The education provided my daughters was the best ever!
—Submitted by a parent

It's the best school around - academically and socially and sports. Great staff and excellent attention to giving the kids the best education they can!!
—Submitted by a parent

I graduated from Athens this year (2009) and I really enjoyed being there and will miss it greatly. 9 times out of 10, the teachers care about their students and teach in new ways. Many teachers are life coaches and friends on top of being teachers, which says a lot. The downside is the administration which changes frequently and is getting more bureacratic causing many teachers to leave. Hopefully the new teachers that come to Athens are just as dedicated. Also, the school is very diverse in comparison to Troy High School and the atmosphere is less competitive. The school used to have many fights and drug busts, but now it's changing. Go here.
—Submitted by a student

I was a graduate of 08 from Athens. I must say that it was something which really helped prepare me for college and set me ahead of most of the others in my classes. Although, Athens has many problems as well. For example, many teachers will not take the time to help out students but instead will only help favorites rather than the others who genuinely need help. Skipping class is extremely easy and drugs are very prevalent throughout the school although there are not as many heavy drugs such as at Troy High. Some faculty even will permit students to smoke on the property or sneak out for a quick fix. If you go to any school you will find this though and the academic experience was great (although very easy to get lost in). Equality is greatly taught and is a major bonus!
—Submitted by a student

Athens is, overall, a pretty good school. There are a few really great teachers that honestly do care about the kids. Geoff Benes, the orchestra conductor is one of the best. But there are also teachers who start the school year with comments like,'I hate freshmen.' And this is in a required freshman course. The younger teachers are far too impressed with themselves, and some of the older ones just don't care any more. But this has been happening for decades. Athens is definitely a better place for a Troy student than Troy High. Troy High has an attitude problem. Very rude.
—Submitted by a parent

Without taking anything else into consideration, Athens is, at the very least, filled with opportunities to those who are searching. The list of activities, sports, and courses is formidable, and the curriculum is challenging. The teachers are, overall, decent, with some who are spectacular, and others, not so much. The environment is generally very encouraging, and give many chances for independent development.
—Submitted by a student

As an Athens graduate, I feel as if I got a great education that prepared me for college. The teachers were very actively involved in helping the students. Administration did a pretty good job, too.
—Submitted by a student

My daughter's middle school friends were all going to Troy High and she was not happy about attending Athens High. Guess what,now she thinks that this is a great school because of the good friends and the great teachers here. The school has all the resources and if the parents are little more involved in the academic process of their children, Athens can become formidable and give Troy High quite the run for their money.
—Submitted by a parent

For being a senior at Athens right now, I am very disappointed with the school. There are so many fights, so many people that skip and the faculty seems to just turn their heads. Also the school is dirty. The cafeteria and bathrooms are always a mess.
—Submitted by a student

We are thrilled with Athens. We were in Parochial schools K-8 and the wonderful administrators made my son's transition fabulous. The school held 7 or 8 'transition nights' for 8th graders going into 9th. The parent meetings have been informative and great. The school is safe and extracurriculars are everywhere and available to all. My experience is that the administrators and counselors and staff have gone out of their way to be helpful. Academics are world class. I see many parents volunteering when asked. My son absolutely loves the school. He's made a lot of great friends which is nice because he's never attended Troy public schools before and he didn't know a soul prior to this year. The teachers are energetic, creative and engaging. My son attends Troy High for Chinese class. We're all thrilled!
—Submitted by Bev Raine, a parent

I have been disappointed in Athen high school. The lack of discipline for some students and turning a blind eye to the number of skipping that goes on in this school. The administration has done nothing to improve this problem. Response to letters and phone calls is non-existent.
—Submitted by a parent

The arrogance at this school is very hard to take if your child is not on the top of the heap. If your child receives special education services, run! I'm sure the academic programs are of high quality, and I know there are music, sports, arts and other extracurricular activities available....just not to all students. If your child is different, or needs extra help, do not expect him or her to fit in or receive any extra help. The only level of parental involvement this school appreciates are checks, booster club members or parents interested in making sure their children make it into an ivy league college.
—Submitted by a parent

I think it is one of the best public high school in Detroit area. There are very good teachers, good counselor and universities and colleges prefer graduates from this school. Very good extracurricular activities and a lot of choices. But at the end, it depends if the student wants to study. A rival school is Troy High School with similar level.
—Submitted by Lucian, a parent

Overall this school is excellent. The principal and staff are well qualified and CARE about their students. My child is in the highly successful Athens Marching Band with significant amount of after-school time devoted to the band practice and competition, yet having been able to maintain mostly 'A' grades and having been enjoying great learning experience and friendship. The band director is a great road model for the kids and is a motivation factor for them to achieve academic excellence and to understand the true meaning of responsibility. The school provides students good opportunities in various academic and sports programs without setting strict entrance skill requirements - so to give everyone a chance. One area may need some improvement is student counseling.
—Submitted by a parent

Our experience with this high school was a huge disappointment after sending two children through it. Our children were both very strong students. Our last child graduated at the top of their class but received very little help, guidance or support from the administration at Athens. Both of our children have an impairment and we experienced a continuous uphill battle with the administration to provide them with the accommodations they needed and that the law entitled them to. The need to advocate for them continously made our experience a nightmare. We did experience a hand full of teachers that were exceptional and worked very hard at being great teachers but during our 7-year involvement with the school they were the minority. We also found the coaching in the athletic programs that our children participated in to be less then satisfactory with little concern on the well-being of the student athlete.
—Submitted by a parent

Having attended this school, I feel that it has broadened my knowledge in many ways. I am currently working in marketing, and learned a lot from my economics classes through out high school. I had a lot of oppurtunities given to me in this school, along with encouragement from the staff.
—Submitted by a former student