Chichester Senior High School

This school admittedly, has a not-so great reputation. However, many of these are exaggerated. There are issues within the School and Student Body, (foul language is more than prevalent, drugs are not unheard off to the district, average to below average standardized test scores, etc.), but there is plenty right with school as well. There is a fantastic music program, offering several choruses and bands. There's a wide variety of sports for students to choose from, with the most popular being football, and of course the parents love to be involved with all extracurricular activities. . Another point, is there is not one teacher that will not sacrifice their own time, and go far beyond their job title to assist a student in need. For me the largest problem in the school is the sheer lack of pride. When something goes wrong, or there is an issue, it is not uncommon to hear, "That's Chi for you" or "Welcome to Chi". It is this mentality that I believe causes several of the problems within the district in the first place. While I can openly admit that my school has more than it's fair share in issues, it's the school I have unwavering pride for, and there's no where else I'd rather go.
—Submitted by a student

I have two children who attended this district K-12 and they both did extremely well. There are excellent teachers and classes, but students must put forth the effort. One of my children received a full tuition scholarship to a highly ranked university and due to the AP courses at the high school, had enough college credits for an entire semester. My other child is currently still at the high school and doing well. This district is what you make of it. If you are an involved parent and your children are good students who are willing to work, there are lots of opportunities. My children participated in sports and many activities and had a great high school experience.
—Submitted by a parent

I had two of my children go through Chichester. It is a so-so academic school. Very little displine. Absolutely horrible drugs, bullying, foul language, etc. If there was another public high school that I could have sent them to, they would have been there! Thank goodness they had a good upbringing & didn't give in to peer pressure. My poor son studied his tail off in hs & had to take courses in the summer to get into college. The teachers (for the most part) don't care.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter has been in chichester schools and they dont like it at all iep program was waste of time .
—Submitted by a parent

Chi chester school is a great school and a better curriculum than alot of other school but they worry too much about some of the things dat dnt matter like how you dress and things dat dnt matter than dealing with the skippers the drugs and thing like dat in the school. also some of the teachers really dnt care about the students and what they have to say but a majority of them actually love teaching and help their students to the best of their ablilitys..
—Submitted by a student

Contary to some ratings at this site, this is a good school district. Can it improve? Yes. Is it terrible? No. The biggest concern I have is for the marginalization of student grades. It seems that the grading system/methods is too easy to get a B, thereby, some students do [not] fully apply themselves. This is a characteristic of several high schools as I have spoken and interact with parents of other school districts. In our case, I have found that my children, though getting A's or B's do not really have the full understanding of some courses, for example, Math. We have been in the district for 10 years now and heave seen a steady increase in percent of students attending either a 2-year or 4-Year colleg rise. Parents must be involved with their child's courses so they know what is expected.
—Submitted by a teacher

Quality of academic programs Availability of music, art, sports and other extracurricular activities Level of parent involvement
—Submitted by a parent

Our experience with the Chichester School system has been great. My children's test scores are through the roof! My son struggled in math in the 7th grade; however we had a wonderful teacher help us get him back on track. He is an a-b student in the high school, working on an internship at a local museum for community service. My daughter is currently in the 8th grade. We have been contacted by several art-intesive colleges who are very interested in having her as a student during her summer. I just think that the teachers cannot bear all of the burden - parents must stay involved with their children. Also I believe that the more our children are involved after-school activities, then they are better off. My son is on the track team and my daughter is art/writing extracurricular activities.
—Submitted by a parent

Academic is very poor in this school district, with all the new teachers that they hired. I honestly do not think that they bothered to check the teachers references. At one time it was an excellent school but now I beg to differ. Guidance does nothing for thier students as a matter of fact when the students send in thier application for colleges, they seem to forget to send the students transcript. The day they hold these teachers accountable for their low test scores them maybe they can start to help these students. The superintendant has brought the school district down academically. He has hired a bunch of inept teachers. He is a better office manager than a superintendant. There is a serious drug problem at that school, but yet they worry about what a student is wearing or where they are parking. The serious issue get overlooked.
—Submitted by a parent

excellent...great district !!