Downingtown High School East Campus

This school was a life-saver for my son. I transferred him over from a failing school district when we moved to the area. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! His behavior changed tremendously. I noticed a huge difference in the teachers/staff at this school. They truly took an interest in my son and his academic (and social-emotional) well-being! This is a great school!
—Submitted by a parent

As a 2011 graduate attending one of the top schools in the nation, I am appalled by the way parents perceive the school. The opportunities are there for students if they choose to accept them and the major issues at this school of 2,000 have been created by less than 20 students. If a student wishes to apply themselves and succeed, the school will help them do it. More students believe it's more important to have the most recent gossip than understand the most recent world events. The sad truth is that it is the parents who make most students at East who they are by not taking active roles in their lives and not giving a damn what their kids do and would rather entertain MTV with their kids than CNN. Also, for the critics of the district not taking care of underachieving students, they clearly have not seen the great work being done for mentally challenged students. Another point to those who claim it is a school of entitlement, it is public school in a nice suburban area and you can choose to live another place but this truly is one of the best public schools you can find and the fact that kids leaving here annually attend as good or better schools than private school kids locally
—Submitted by a student

Downingtown Area School District is one of the finest anywhere, however, the reputation they have is being smeared by their teachers' behavior right now. It seems like the teachers at East have chosen to make a point to the school board that they are unhappy with their (lack of) contract. I am disappointed that this great school district's teachers have chosen a very unprofessional way of handling themselves, and it makes great schools look bad. If they don't change their ways then people won't want to keep moving into our district and these teachers won't have a job at all. It also brings me to the conclusion that if this is how people behave in the midst of stress, that I don't know if they should be trusted with being role models for our children. The students are always watching and I wouldn't want my kids to handle a difficult situation the way their teachers are right now. I'm hopeful that these teachers come to their senses and remember that my children need them to be the professionals they should be.
—Submitted by a parent

Downingtown is a great school district. Most of the complaints here point towards the issues caused by teachers unions throughout the state of Pennsylvania. This is not just a problem contained within the Downingtown school district but again something that the state of Pennsylvania needs to address. I'm a big fan of public schools and letting your child become exposed to what the room world has to offer both good and bad. From what I have seen the children in our neighborhood could've grown up to become young adults do well in college educated from downtown the school district. It is a safe area to grow up yet a little wealthy but not ridiculously snobbish like some comments were made here. I have privately tutored some students in mathematics and I can tell you that parents are competitive in the school district and will spend the extra time and money needed to give their child the advantages compared to where I grew up. Forgive any typing errors this was done from a smart phone.

The DEHS junior varsity football team traveled to DE to play my son's team last Monday. In my 30+ years of being a football fan I've never seen such poor sportsmanship displayed by any team. The Downingtown players constantly badgered, provoked, taunted and got physical with our boys. The DEHS coaches should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this behavior to continue throughout the entire game even AFTER warnings from the officials. It's unfortunate that an official had to repeatedly tell the players to "get up" after a tackle since they chose to lay on the opponent for an unacceptable period of time. Win or lose, our kids showed more class than anyone on the opposing sideline; including coaches, parents and players. My son is very fortunate to attend a school that teaches FAITH, HUMILITY, and INTEGRITY. Obviously the Downingtown East student body and staff could learn something from our students.

Being a teacher and a very involved parent, we have had a horrific experience with DASD across the board. I am not originally from this area and have spent the last 17 years trying to make Downingtown my home. For the most part the district is extremely unfriendly, snobbish and just plain rude. It has been made quite clear to me that outsiders are not welcome. Overall most teachers that we have experienced will only do what is required, what is in their contract not what would help the students. The bombing incident that happened last year was not handle quickly and that is why the threats kept continuing. The community and the district do not work together and the administration has their hands tied by the union. The amount of drugs in the high school is shocking. This is a community of entitlement and they will step on whomever they need to get what they want. If you can teach yourself then this is the school for you. Something must be wrong if the school has not made AYP for several years in a row. For a school to get a great school rating of 10, that would mean it is perfect. Nothing is perfect.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm currently a student at DEHS, but really, some of the comments about the teachers are simply ridiculous. Yes, like all high schools, there are great teachers, good teachers, and not so good teachers. There are also classes that if you breathe, you can get an A in. There is a lot of variety in the school, and the number of courses is being increased. The principles are great, love being with the students, and bring a great environment to the school. Last year, there were lots of bomb threats, but really, it got solved effectively, once they found the two students who did it. The school is also a great environment to make friends. There's plenty of school events that are free, or at very little cost. Also, the sports here are great, and there is a good variety. All sports constantly challenge to be in district playoffs every year.
—Submitted by a student

Very good high school, probably better if you can have a stay at home mom who can get in the faces of the teachers and stay on top of their child. We leave with a sense of loss in terms of potential. Child / school / parent - can't blame just the school, for sure. However, we ran into some difficulty getting support for our kids with mild learning disabilities, (primarilly reading.) Unsure if it was related to the fact that we moved here at an older age, or what, but it didn't work. A general warning - there is lots of peer pressure to keep up with the rich kids here - check out the cars that the students drive to school everyday! And there are a good number of kids whose parents give them things, not love and parenting.
—Submitted by a parent

I had an okay time attending DEHS, but am glad I got out when I did. I graduated in 2008, and by that time numerous rule crack-downs and administration changes made me feel like I was living in a George Orwell novel. Cynthia Ajemian is the best teacher I have ever, and will ever have. Despite the school's recent downturn, attending DEHS is worth it if students are able to take 11th Grade Honors English and/or 12th Grade A.P. English with her. I have never learned so much from a teacher, and I am who I am because of my experiences with her.
—Submitted by a student

Excellent English department! I loved every single one of my teachers. They did a superb job preparing me for college: Freshman English at U of A was a breeze!
—Submitted by a student

Great Schools! Absolutly love everything about them! Leadership, teachers, academics, sports, extracuricular activities, community organizations for the youth, they have it all! We moved our children here in 04 from Michigan and it's best thing we could of ever done for our children and their futures! We actually used this website to check out all the schools in the area and we moved to Downingtown just for these schools and this commuity and I'm so glad we did. I cannot believe the difference in education between Downingtown schools and the schools we attended in Michigan, they don't even compare. Our children attend DEHS, Lionville Middle and Uwchlan Hills Elementary and they are all very good schools!
—Submitted by a parent

Great school! Wonderful,caring teachers! My child graduated class of 2006 so very prepared for college. Made Deans List 1st year! I am most grateful to all the teachers support staff and Mr. Linwood Smith. May God Bless and keep all of you. With Much Appreciation. Lynn Duffy-Waters
—Submitted by Lynn Duffy-Waters, a parent

Great school with good teachers that care about students. Well trained administrators and all students seem to enjoy their time here.
—Submitted by Craig Langham, a parent