Thurston High School

I am 2003 Graduate of thurston High School and found it to be a great experience for me. Teachers such as Paul Halupa and Kevin Rowan (though Mr. Rowan is, I believe, no longer there) impacted and changed my life. The teachers, coaches and administration really cared about us as a student body and prepared us for the future. If there is any doubt about the school's ability to prepare students after high school (where I was part of a 3x state champion cheer squad) I received a B.A. in English at the UO and a M.A. in education from Pacific U. I am now an English teacher as well! GO COLTS!!

I graduated from Thurston High School and think some of the other reviews are, well, ridiculous! I feel like everyone feels entitled to state of the art facilities and teachers that will all but complete their education for them ('students are not pushed to their fullest potential'). Whatever happened to pushing yourself to your full potential. I thought Thurston was a wonderful school and I had the resources at hand to work hard and meet my potential. I believe that any student that walks into Thurston with a desire to learn and do great things, and has a strong work ethic, will meet or exceed their own potential. Most of the teachers are great and are there to help students who need help. I had one teacher that allowed me to come to their home on a Saturday to help me with some work I was struggling with. Great school!
--Submitted by a student

I am a 2008 graduate from Thurston High school and I found the school very satisfactory. Sure there are ceilings collapsing, water in the hallways, and way too many students in one classroom, but regardless, I was very prepared for college and life. The teachers DO care. No one teacher can give enough instruction in one class period to make you feel prepared for an upcoming test or an assignment. However, they are always in their classroom ready to help any student that walks through their door for extra help. It is ultimately up to the students to seek the resources they need in order to be successful, because guess what? The faculty at THS is preparing you for college. The professors in college don't care if you are successful or not, get used to it. After HS, no one is going to be holding your hands through life.
--Submitted by a student

I am a sophmore at THS and find that while it is in need of major improvements,we probably should've thought about that before we hired the archtiect that built this school(from California) to make our roofs flat...It rains a lot out here and everywhere you walk, you're dodging raindrops in the hallways!I've known people who have been charged up to ten dollars for water damage on their books because a drop of water fell from the roof onto it while they were walking down the hallway! It's ridiculous,but like i said,we probably should of thought about that earlier... Another thing about this school is that besides a small handful of teachers, most of the staff here is unsatisfactory.A couple of teachers here have had sooo many complaints called in by students and parents and yet, the faculty at THS pretends to not notice.
--Submitted by a student

As a parent, I am disappointed in the guidance given to the students by the principals and counselors. The teachers don't care about maintaining order and structure in the classroom. I worry my child will not be ready for college. After school activities are limited and funding support is non-existent for anything except football.
--Submitted by a parent

I am a senior at Ths moved here from scottsdale arizona. Thurston does not care where you are after you graduate, nor do they teach you anything that will prepare you for college. I hate it and Ill be happy to leave.
--Submitted by a student

At Thurston High School there are limited teachers left who really care about their students understandment of the material. I have had a rough 3 years at thurston since i have attended this school. i Am currently a Senior at Ths. There are leaks and broken lockers,holes in walls,no air conditioning or heat. This environment makes it difficult to learn. Lets just say it was very hard to make it through till my graduation which is 2007! I am so happy to leave Thurston high school in Springtucky, oregon!
--Submitted by a student

Im a freshman at thurston high school and i love it! its a great school!
--Submitted by a student

I am a student at Thurston, and I wish that more people could see how badly funds are being spent. In most of my classes there are more than 40 students, and if we're lucky, up to 40 desks. But usually we have 35-37 desks to over 40 students. That doesn't work out to well. Our school has no walls. Thats weird. In one of my classes there are about 47 students, 35 desks, and on average, 20 handouts that we're suppost to use for homework. And yet for some reason we were given sky lights down a hallway, I mean breeze way that most of the students don't go down. To me that doesn't make sense, when most if not all the roofs leak, badly, and we have no walls. Who approves sky lights, but won't approve money for someone to build a roof or walls? I don't get it.
--Submitted by a parent

It is really sad to hear people complain about Thurston spending money on school improvements. By the look of the halls and classrooms it feels as if it is Niagra Falls, there is dryrot everywhere, if it were a home it could not be sold until it met certain standards. There are so many leaks to these building that a ton of improvements are needed. We will not have a school if we don't take care of it now. As for the money, start getting your parents and grandparents to vote in a way as to help. They have gotten themselves through school now it is our turn but they are unwilling to spend the money. The school does spend it's money correctly and by the way, Lacross gets no funding, it is a volunteer sport and receives moral support only....
--Submitted by a parent