Hightstown High School

Half of the teachers at this school have no idea what theyre doing. It ashames me that I attend this horrible school.
—Submitted by a student

My student went here in the 2009-2010 school year. It seems that the teachers are ok and do care about the students. There was a language barrier however, since half the school speaks Spanish. The teachers did speak English, but some where still hard to understand due to their accent, which is not their fault. My only concern was after school if a female student missed the bus and needed a ride, they could do a "favor" for the guy who had a car. I tried to write this as tastefully as I could without breaking the rules here at Great Schools. I hope I did ok. I wrote this for the parents of the students who go here, and hope this is no longer an issue.
—Submitted by a parent

I had a wonderful experience at HH. I had many choices with colleges and universities! I disagree with the most recent reviewer. Obviously he wasn't able to back up his statement of "Bad things have happened and we would be shocked if we only knew," because he probably had a horrible experience. Listen, school is what you make of it! No matter what school you go to, you as the student have to make the effort! You need to get involved with the academics, athletics, music, art and listen to your teachers. Do your homework diligently and you WILL succeed!
—Submitted by a student

BAd things happen which u would be shocked if u only knew!
—Submitted by a student

HHS is an EXCEPTIONAL school - I had both my children graduate from there and they are both in Private Colleges now. They did so well that they are receiving a substantial amount of scholarship from these colleges. Our friends children, who went to the East Brunswick schools are both at the County College. Go Figure!! So I guess it is a lot about your kids and how much they take away - if you have taught them well at home and taught them the merits of paying attention in class - they will do well - no matter what school they attend. We loved the staff at HHS and felt they were very attentive. If your child WANTS to learn - THIS is a the school to attend!
—Submitted by a parent

I am a parent of an ex HHS student. I had to pull my child out of this school district due to the lack of supervision and the outright inability of the district to control/discipline troubled students. The principals and adminstration are a joke and the board is not much better. This year they sent all the teachers to Disney for teacher conferences. Why would a school district do that when they can't even supply the students with needed materials to get a decent education. If I was asked, I would strongly recommend that no one I know send their children to this school district.
—Submitted by a parent

Im a recent drop out of HHS my freshman and sophmore year where the best years ever. It had a great enviorment and some of the teachers were very helpful although the asst. principles and guidance counselour weren't as much help as they should have been. They gave incorrect information which really isnt great thats the reason I dropped out. But over all the enviorment is fine and some teachers are great.

I am a recent graduate of HHS and had a great experience. I had some wonderful teachers and I also hit a few pretty bad ones. My freshman and sophomore years were more enjoyable and a better environment to go to school in. The new administration made some very unnecessary changes that made it harder to be motivated to go to school. I had a great overall experience with high school though but it was all based on the few great teachers I had.
—Submitted by a student

My daughter is going into her jr year and she loves it. I do not have a bad thing to say about most of the teachers and staff. The Superintendent and board are another thing. All I ever hear is we need more money for the district, well if it were spent correctly and not on six figure salaries I think the children in our district would have a much better school experience.
—Submitted by a parent

As I recent graduate of HHS, I felt the school should've been better. Yes, there were some great teachers, but of course there were some mediocre and bad ones too. The asst. principals and guidance were average, but I think the principal was putting what she did in Piscataway into there instead of listening to students' concerns. The student body was slightly rowdy and the security was not doing anything to combat them.
—Submitted by a student

I have two kids in the school and my experience is different with both. One was lucky enough to have some of the best teachers and the other was not so lucky, and it makes a lot of difference grade wise. I must say that my experience with the parent teacher conference was the best. There you could see the quality of the teachers. Overall the school has come a long way and for the better since kids graduating for HHS are going places. by a parent
—Submitted by a parent

I have had my children graduate from Hightstown and not have a problem with getting into private or public colleges. They had choices. I wished that their guidance department was better in taking an actual interest in the children. Otherwise, the school is becoming a terrific place to learn. The administration has shaken up the entire faculty and made them accountable for every class and every grade. Students too are held to higher expectations. There has been a very positive change in Hightstown. The money for the trips comes from parents and from parents and students doing fundraising.
—Submitted by a parent

Oldest is graduating and going to a fabulous and challenging University- but I am definately concerned about my next child having to go to HHS in 2 yrs., enough said.
—Submitted by a parent

When asked at a meet the Superintendent night when our newest started his position, 'I hear there are gangs in the high school. What will be done about that?' His response was, 'Well, they're not wearing colors.' Period!
—Submitted by a parent

Sadly, the teachers, adminstrators, and school board members of HHS/EW school district seem less concerned with improving the quality of the academic programs than they are will ensuring the continual expansion of extracurricular activities (eg, Lacrosee team in 2004) and the annual trip to Europe for some student group or another. The school board appropriates the money, distributes it to various programs without regard to merit, then claims 'the children' have no money for books. Of course--it's all been spent on nonsense! The school board members may mean well; it's nice to be able to provide a full extracurricular program, but it shouldn't be at the expense of academia. A solid academic background leaves longer-lasting benefits than a week-long trip to France.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm a junior at Hightstown high school and i dislike it here. I think the quality of the education you can get here is subordinate compared to surrounding schools like west windsor. I have been taking all honors at hightstown since I moved here as a freshman I have had only 3 good teachers who actually care about the success and potential of their students. One good thing about the school is that there are many extracurricular activites that the students may participate in like the variety of clubs and sports offered but even with all this extra after school activities to keep students busy the school is still not respectable. Something that irritates me is that there are so many bright and extremely intelligent kids here at hightstown high school in tight competition who wont get the credit they deserve because they are attending an inferior school in new jersey.
—Submitted by raj, a student

I graduated from Hightstown in '04, and I was very glad to get out. HHS puts up a front of being a good school, but with the exception of about a dozen teachers and 3% of the overall student population, no one cares. If I hadn't been in mostly honors courses, I don't know how i would have survived. Humanities and APs are the only decent classes at that school. The overall learning enviorment is atrocious. Besides the pathetic look of the school, the students do whatever they want, and few teachers care. I was lucky enough to be involved with the few decent programs HHS offers, and the few good teachers stuck there. I really wish I'd gone to a high school where someone cared about the building, students or activities enough to make the situation better.
—Submitted by a former student

I am currently attending Hightstown High School and I love it here. Getting an education here is not as hard as some of the other people that have made entries are saying and the diversity of the school is always refeshing and enlightening. There are so many opportunities here to get a good education and so many after school activities to get involved with. There are some students at Hightstown that do not like it here but they are usually the people that don't get involved. People just need to learn to work with all the good options that have at HHS because i know first hand that you can have good teachers, get good grades, obtain a good education, and participate in so many activities if you just look at your options and get involved.
—Submitted by a student

I am currently a senior at HHS. The school is atrocious and I am glad to be leaving it in June. Learning quality, even in honors courses, is generally pathetic at best. The majority of the teachers are incompetent, the guidance staff is awful, and lacks any form of positive encouragement. I was accepted into a prestigious university, despite being told by my guidance counselor, in other words, that I would never make it and shouldn't bother applying. The school itself is dirty, loud, and falling apart. It seems like there's always something new that is wrong at the school, as a new piece falls off or a new leak occurs daily. There's nothing as exciting as watching the rain pour into the hallways of your school. If you can avoid sending you children to HHS, do so
—Submitted by a student

I graduated from HHS in 2002. I graduated within the top 5% of my class and now attend a prestigious university. Kids like me are undoubtedly the minority at HHS. The school is gloomy, dirty, and loud. 'A cesspool of ignorance' as I frequently say when asked about my highschool experience. Many of the administrators are bitter, egotistical and ignorant and many of the teachers are flat-out incompetant. One has to work hard and know how to manipulate the system just to get a decent education. It's easy to get lost in the melancholy fog that permeates the school, but if one can maintain favorable grades in honors and AP classes, and make sure to stay in those classes (because that's where the good teachers are), a decent education is possible.
—Submitted by a former student