Coventry High School

My daughter is currently a senior at CHS. In her four years attending the school she has had a mix of adequate to excellent teachers. She has been challenged in many classes (more than she might have wished!) But she rose to the challenge and has consistently been a high honor student. She has had the opportunity to also participate in sports under the tutelage of a supportive coach -thanks Ms. Risch. Overall the experience with the school has been positive for both student and parent. The operations of the school have appeared organized and coordinated. School calendar up to date. School functions well run. Communication to parents was adequate - occasionally a little short notice. Unfortunately satisfied customers rarely submit comments so the ranking appears a little off target.
--Submitted by a parent

Poor communication, want parental involvement yet do nothing to assist when you want to be involved. This school is only interested in numbers, scores, writing plans to look good, not in putting them into action and helping or even guiding students who struggle academically. If you are not a behavior issue, the school barely notices you. They will give you detention for forgetting to return a form, but not for missing homework. They don't hold students accountable except for the bad grade, which for students who are trying, only makes them feel like they can't succeed, THey are not interested in finding out what would help you to succeed. I know a few teachers that engage students, but they are bypassed by the majority (including guidance dept) who are only concerned with scores, not quality teaching or finding what the student needs to succeed when they have learning differences.
--Submitted by a parent

Some very good teachers and others who don't care. Communication is difficult. Teachers don't always get back to parents. Overcrowded. Large school does offer many programs that smaller schools can't.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is typical of many in RI. There is so little accountability for results. We moved to RI 5 years ago and it has been a disaster as far as schools go. RI is so far behind is it appalling. The sad part is the teachers unions have seen to it that the teachers are compensated well, yet the results are lacking. If this was private industry they all would be fired for lack of performance.
--Submitted by a parent

I've seen the school go downhill since the first year one of my children attended. Communication from the school to parent is inadequate. We hear a week after the fact if my stepson has a detention or is absent from school, so there is no way for us to ensure that he goes, resulting in yet another detention or worse. When my first daughter went, nearly 20 years ago, there was weekly, if not daily, communications from her teachers. We got a phone call if our child was absent, within a couple of hours. We were kept informed. This year, we are lucky if we get a standard letter a week after something happens.
--Submitted by a parent

As a former student who just graduated, I've seen change. Some of the new graduation mandates are taking a toll on the students and teachers. Some of the rules although good ideas, seem to undermine trust; mandatory wearing of an ID card.
--Submitted by a student

This school leaves me feeling empty. The lack of communication between teachers and students is sad. I agree that the good teachers are far and few in between. I get the feeling that the teachers are just tired, not only with teaching but also with the way the school is being run, i.e. management. The extracurricular activities are really the only true good thing about the school. These activities seem to be the only thing keeping the kids going to school at all. As far as parent involvement, I know teens don't want to be embarrassed by their parents but there could be more parent involvement. There should be something simple so the parents know what their child is learning about in school. Like some type of project that has to involve an adult.
--Submitted by a former student

I am absolutely beside myself in wonder over the total lack of any kind of cohesive structure in this school. The disciplinary team seems like a group of bullies with 'favorite' marks and no one communicates anything to anyone within the different departments. I will applaud the scattering of teachers who have attempted to reach out to me, but they are few and far between. The general sense I've gotten from the school is that kids like mine (ADHD) just mess up their test averages. The Truancy Court process is absolutely terrifying There is no support for kids who don't fit into their Capstone-happy high honors model and I am currently preparing to pull my son out of this school before it's too late.
--Submitted by a parent

I am not particularly happy with the way this school is run. The communication between teachers, principals, and the guidance department with the parents is awful. If children are not encouraged to learn these days, what's to become of them?
--Submitted by a parent

I agree with the previous from notes that Coventry High School lacks that adult guidance we had growing up. The management there is extremely unorganized and no one communicates with each other. The school is over crowded and there is not enough teachers with patience to work with the students. What happened to the student comes first. No matter what or no student left behind.
--Submitted by a parent