East Chapel Hill High School

East is misunderstood as a school that is "highly rigorous." I have two students there who are both excellent top of their class students, and both have been miserable and generally unsupported during their time at East. The problem is that the school is so large, with very little security or discipline, and tremendous pressure on the teachers by the administration to rank high on testing that everyone is stressed out. Teachers and administrators take ages to get back to parents, if they do at all. Concerns are met with hostility. Creativity and critical thinking are not valued. This school creates automatons who score highly on tests - not future leaders of America. In short, I do not credit my kids' success academically to the academic rigors of East CHHS.
—Submitted by a parent

This is an excellent school. Teachers expect you to work very hard and by junior year you need to take about 5 AP's to maintain a competitive edge. However, I would say that while it is extremely stressful to maintain that course load and do a lot of extracurriculars, this is truly what real life is all about. There is a lot of competition and especially for people looking into ivy leagues, you ought to strive for academic excellence at all times. East isn't for everyone (especially not for those who like to slack off more often than not) but if you work very hard and strive for excellence you will find your niche. The teachers here aren't always understanding about the stress students are having but many do understand and are sympathetic to your concerns.
—Submitted by a student

We have had a student at East for 2 years and as parents have noticed: *Excellent, dedicated teachers who (besides knowing their subject matter): - Integrate real world facts with academic instruction - Provide cooperative group experience *and* individual projects - Use the internet creatively and professionally - Organize extracurricular field trips - Assess learning outcomes intelligently - Help students learn to take responsibility *Fellow students encourage one another to study but have fun together, too *International and multicultural student body *Students are comfortable conversing with adults as beings of the same species *Availability of challenging academics for those so inclined *Phenomenal drama dept. *Music program, student newspaper and numerous clubs *Sports ethos supporting young women athletes as much as its young men *Nurture and challenge as appropriate. East provides a good foundation for college where students must be self-directed to take initiative and ownership of their own lives. It is a big school built upon the hearts of many caring individuals.
—Submitted by a parent

[Enter your review here] My two children are currently at East, They enjoy the school life a lot. It is a wonderful high school from every aspects.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is full of amazing teachers and has perhaps hundreds of groups for whatever you like--clubs especially are in abundance. Teachers are very involved, and there are many great teachers, not so many bad ones, and though I have run into some, I doubt it's a major problem. I do have to note that the competition at this school is very high. If you do not take AP classes your sophomore year, your class rank suffers dramatically, and extracurriculars come in the triples, often each of them asking your total dedication. You will find yourself staying up past midnight if you take your stuff seriously. But this school is highly enjoyable to go to; everyone finds their niche, bursts out, and has the freedom to enjoy whatever they want to. I will be sorry to leave.
—Submitted by a student

All three of my kids have gone to ECCHS (one yet to graduate), so I have a clear view of the current landscape. For any motivated student, ECCHS is a great school. The curriculum is very challenging -- my kids put in as much work in high school as I ever did in college. There are plenty of extracurricular opportunities. Some posts here speak of drug/alcohol -- perhaps (like any large high school) but I never once saw that element interfere in any way with the social adjustment and happiness of the achievers Both my graduates got into top-rated colleges, and have very positive memories of their high school experience. There's a new principal coming this year (the longtime and much beloved principal has retired) so we'll see how that goes.
—Submitted by a parent

My son graduated with honors from a very fine university. I feel he was very well prepared by the faculty at East Chapel Hill High School. When he comes home on breaks, he still has many friends in town who he enjoys visiting with. Many of his friends have been successful at universities around the country as well as North Carolina. ECHHS is very rigorous. There are many opportunities for participation in sports, music, and other activities. The campus is beautiful. There has been an ongoing drug and alcohol problem in Chapel Hill that parents should be aware of. Probably not too different from what is going on in other parts of the country these days, unfortunately. There are some effective community initiatives directed at solving these problems.
—Submitted by a parent

I don't see why these reviews are so negative in reference to safety and discipline. As a student at East, I can proudly say that I have a social life, have never done drugs, and have never had alcohol. In addition, none of my friends have done any of those things. I'm aware of other people who do smoke and drink, but what high school doesn't have those people? Discipline may be a bit more of a problem (I have nothing to compare it to), but it's not like there's fights breaking out in the halls or anything. I've always felt quite safe at East, even before they implemented the key card system. Instead of focusing on safety, potential students should be worrying more about whether they have what it takes to succeed at this highly competitive (and slightly stressful) school.
—Submitted by a student

I graduated in '07, and I'm currently a student at Wellesley College. I know that I would not have gotten accepted to Wellesley had it not been for the teachers, counselors and other faculty members at East who helped me strive for my best and excepted nothing less. I feel like most all the teachers are extremely qualified, many graduated from prestigious colleges and a good number hold multiple degrees. I think that all academic departments are equally vigorous and enlightening. ECHHS has put plenty of its resources and time in all areas of extracirricular activities---athletics, clubs, arts, music. I am proud to say that I am an ECHHS graduate.
—Submitted by a student

I am a recent graduate from this school and I have to say its a pretty good school. The teachers are pretty good and classes arent too long. There are so many sports teams that we dont have enough space for them all and the music and art departments are both very good. Be aware that the school is very challenging. And as far as safety goes they just implemented a key card system to get into any door.
—Submitted by a former student

In all honesty, the reviews on here are horribly incorrect in my opinion but I'll try to straighten some facts. I'm currently a Senior in the top 5% of the class, and I must say, this school is very challenging and competitive. Having moved here halfway through my high school years, I have a basis for comparison. The principal is very dedicated, no question about it, he does a very good job in trying to connect with students, and he has weekly contact with parents and students through his Sunday calls. The teachers are excellent, especially the honors and AP ones. Students that come to this school has to be prepared for a very rigorous workload and it is not a school for the unmotivated and academically unsound student. Counselors are extremely helpful also. The school IS not accessible to 'anyone', there is a keycard system.
—Submitted by a student

My son graduated from East Chapel Hill High. His academic preparation was excellent. He is doing very well at in a highly competitive program at a fine university. Availability of extracurricular activities was excellent. I am very impressed with the principal and counseling staff. Many concerned and involved parents. Very fine group of friends, interesting, caring and creative kids.
—Submitted by a parent

There are alot of art oppertunities, but students are all struggling to do well at this school.
—Submitted by a student

I attended East for four years, and I enjoyed my time there. I thought the teachers were very good, although I think they were teaching a group of motivated students, which obviously helps the classroom atmosphere. There is quite a bit of pressure from parents to do well on AP and SAT tests, and to take a hard schedule of courses. However, students from East come out incredibly well-prepared for college. I have heard from several admissions officers, including one at Duke, that kids from East are more prepared for college than most kids from prep and private schools. Yes, the four years at East were stressful... but I am very confident that I will succeed in college. As for the drinking/drug problem: I know alcohol was abused, especially at parties, but I didn't find drugs to be a problem. The truth is, there are drugs and alcohol at every school.
—Submitted by a former student

I'm not a parent, but I am a student at East and totally disagree with the ratings, especially with the teacher quality and discipline. I as a student have seen hardly any parent involvment and absolutely no what-so-ever discipline in our school system. Don't get me wrong, the students at East are very nice and respectful but the teachers and staff do not discipline us at all and it is a very, very challenging school to succeed in as I have found out the first three years of school there.
—Submitted by a student

As a student at East Chapel Hill I can say that the school is very challenging academically. There is a major drug and alcohol abuse at the school that the Principal and administration pretends doesn't exist. AP and honors credits are the main goals of students. This puts an enormous amount of pressure of students to suceed. Also many parents strongly encourage their child to suceed at desire them to attend top schools like the ivy's. Almost all of the teachers highly knowledgble and are able to convey lessons in a variety of ways. Many extracurricular activities are abundant with many clubs and sports teams. Many teachers do put a strong political spin on the academic lessons, many which lean far to the left.
—Submitted by a student

The teachers at this school are just average. This school scores high academically because of the quality of students and the educational background of the parents. the myth of chapel hill. there is also a serious drug and alcohol problem. The school administrators pretend that it doesn't exist. The principal avoids problems and will not addresss them.
—Submitted by a parent

I don't understand the negativity with some of these reviews. My son went to this school and graduated in 1998. Yes, it was extremely competitive and the top 10% did have gpas over 4.0. However, colleges know this and take this into account tremendously. My son was 'normal' at echhs, with a 3.4 Gpa and in the bottom 50% of his class. Yet, he applied and was accepted to almost all the top engineering schools in the country. He ended up at u of colorado at boulder, and when he entered his freshman year, was already far ahead of most of his fellow classmates. He graduated in 2002 and is doing excellent. Just graduating from either ch high school gives a student a distinct advantage of getting into colleges. Of course there are drugs, etc., But a parent is blind if they think any school is exempt from that.
—Submitted by Vicki Fowler, a parent

ECCHS is overrated on many levels. There is no school wide spirit, and many students are unhappy socially. Student alcohol and drug abuse is a huge problem, which is overlooked by parents and school administrators. Both sets of adults only care about SAT and AP scores, and put unnecessary pressure on students. Most students do attend four year colleges, but these schools are no more elite (contrary to public myth) than those of students from other upper middle income suburban high schools.
—Submitted by a parent

I went to echhs and no amount of money offered would make me want to go back. I was an average student-- graduated with a 3.0 (4.0 Weighted my senior year) and was in the bottom quarter of my class. Everyone is focused on getting into unc-ch. It's a very clique school and i can count the number of students i know of that didn't drink or do drugs on my 10 fingers.
—Submitted by a student