Gresham High School

This school is one of the best that I have been to. The staff are caring and helpful, and all of the classes are taught by people who like their subject. I want to draw particular attention to the Technology program. Mr Walker, the teacher, is an incredibly gifted man who really teaches the kids in a cool way. He really is dedicated. Drama is also a strong point..
—Submitted by a student

I love the school it makes it fun(: and the school keeps you on your toes.
—Submitted by a student

All my kids have gone to GHS. They got a great education, the school is excellent, and the staff is wonderful
—Submitted by a parent

Gresham High School is a great place to experience high school. As I a student I walk down the halls each day knowing that I am safe, accepted, and supported. Within the historic walls of GHS lies a coalition of diverse cultures, races, and respective groups, all bonded together by school pride. The experienced faculty is extremely friendly; each striving to help students succeed above standard curriculum, a rare characteristic in today s education system. Nothing out matches the Gopher student body when athletics, performing arts, and student leadership are at play. Some schools are able to boast about 1 particular attribute they excel in but I can honestly say that I attend the most well balanced school in East County. I may slightly pompous but as a member of various student activities; I have experienced as much of high school as possible and I am proud to represent GHS.
—Submitted by a student

Gresham High School has an outstanding reputation for students who excel and faculty and staff who are extremely caring. Parent involvement is outstanding as well.
—Submitted by a parent

Overall a good school. I was a student there before and now have a daughter that just left there. The staff needs work, though. They don't do a good job of helping struggling students. Usually the students are left behind and can't catch up. There are also a great deal of gangs and drug/alcohol use in the school.
—Submitted by Margie Kemp, a parent

I read a couple of negative posts regarding Gresham High. The racial bias and intolerance allegations particularly standout. From my experience, they are unwarranted. Both of my daughters attend GHS. We have had nothing but a pleasant experience. The old principal was a little shaky but that has been remedied. The extra-curricular programs are outstanding. I have no debate with the academic programs, particularly since the Center for Advanced Learning was opened to GHS students. I am also a little puzzled about the post that alleges that only the 'achievers' are given their due by the teachers. That is certainly not my experience. The teachers are genuinely interested in student progress. For those who complain about teacher performance or interest it may be their kid more than the teachers. If you show up prepared to learn, I am confident the student will get more than a fair shake.
—Submitted by Rick Franklin, a parent

In a conservative town, GHS manages to maintain a staff of fairly open-minded, encouraging members. Students at Gresham are currently dealing with issues concerning racial, socio-ecomonic, religious, sexual and academic differences. Staff does little to help students cope with divisions and diversity. Safety is threatened because of the sometimes volatile environment that exists due in part to these divisions between students. Teachers and administrators are 'good' however, the counseling staff is seriously lacking. They are responsible for too many areas (such as, career/job/college/academic/interest counseling as well as social work counseling). The district as a whole does a poor job of dividing money/salaries/priorities. They tend to value admin far more than teachers. This is one of their biggest faults. Much emphasis is put on the IB program, Student Council, general 'achiever' type activities/classes. Students not a part of this small percentage of 'achievers' are left to fall through the cracks of society.
—Submitted by a student

My child is going to this school as of now. Someone said that they need to stop harassing the students that want to drive off campus for lunch. Well, that is against the rules to do so. They don't want to be responsible for any accidents that may happen during school hours. The staff is very helpful. The Social Worker there helped my child a lot. The teachers noticed she had a problem and notified the Social Worker. I see no problems with race in the school. Security could stand to be a lot better. There are too many fights within the school. When students get into fights, I don't feel they are delt with properly. They are just punished for what they did and there is no further intervention. Which often creates even more tention between the students. With the IB program, the school is great.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is rather simple to sum up. Its a good school for students that do great. But students that struggle, get left behind. The programs designed to help students with this problem is so full, that sometimes you have to wait a year before even getting in. The administration is lacking, they dont like to help problem students very much, and find it much easier to send them to the college to get their GED. The counselors are overall nice, however a few need to work on how much they actually care about the students more than how much of their time is being used. Its a decent school, but needs alot of work to become what they say they are. Also, security needs to be upgraded to something more effective, and they need to stop harassing students who want to drive off campus for lunch.
—Submitted by a former student

There aren't many great schools in the Gresham-Barlow School District to begin with. This is one of the better schools. My child attended Sam Barlow before changing to Gresham later in the year. She enjoys Gresham a lot more. There is less racial tension and the class sizes are considerably smaller. The teachers were very helpful. They are getting a new principal this year who was previously the vice principal. I believe she will lead this school in an even better direction. At Gresham there is the IB program, which helps students chances of getting into a college, the other schools in the GBSD don't have this program. A majority of the students there do very well in academics, as well as athletics. I highly recommend this school over any other school in this district.
—Submitted by Maria Cruz, a parent

I found most of the school administration racist and classist. Students are labeled early on, and if they are not white, athletic, and high in academic achievement, they are left behind. Zero tolerance policies seem designed to force students out, rather than help them to learn. The school district refuses to accommodate different learning styles (unless a teacher voluntarily allows for accommodation). The Options Program (Rick Bartha and others) was the only positive aspect of the school, and for that I am grateful. I drew attention to totally unacceptable, racist problems in the school and while the principal responded to me verbally, nothing actually changed in the school.
—Submitted by Jan Abushakrah, a parent

I attended Gresham 94-98. My experience was very good here, most of the teachers were very nice and helpful. School administration has a little work to do, they weren't very good when dealing with problem students. Certain programs-like drama-were not very enjoyable...a lot of brown nosing, parental payoffs and late nights which conflicted with school. Overall however, I believe my experience here was great.
—Submitted by Tracy, a former student