Italy High School

I have discovered that good teachers teach well in spite of the administration and good administrators administrate well in spite of good or bad school boards; and students who want to do well and learn advance in spite of all of the above and in many cases, even in spite of the parents they have. So, Italy has seen better days, but has been flawed with a series of mediocre school boards making mediocre decisions, especially on personnel decisions. Even though I regret the non-return of the former AD who was a very admirable and fair man for all the students, I think some of the new hires for the next year will be beneficial. Also, the Elementary Principal is doing a wonderful job and is appreciated by staff, children and parents and Italy is blessed with some long-time excellent teachers, i.e. Shepherd, Morgan, Moreland, Davis, Holden (one of the best HS math teachers I have ever seen) and some others. The biggest downfall I see right now is the community failing to recruit and elect intelligent, fair, open-minded board members that are able to see the big and long-term picture for a robust school district of this size.

Not many schools in Texas decide to get rid of a District Champion winning football Coach, especially one who does things right and who has the kids respect. During the term of Coach Bales Administration of the Athletic Department there have been multiple playoff appearances in almost every sport. There have been regional appearances and State Qualification by Italy Athletes. All while done in an honorable sportsmanship like manner that taught the kids that citizenship and hard work were essential characteristics for young people. As a citizen and a tax payer in the Italy ISD I am shocked at the amount of turnover in Administrative ranks in Italy ISD. In the last four years Italy ISD has gone through: - Three Superintendents - Three High School Principals - Three Elementary Principal - Three HS Counselors And all of this change has occured at considerable cost to the taxpayers of Italy ISD, ALL while school employees have been lectured ad nauseum by the Board about the need to save money

This school has a lot of potential. New administration and some veteran teachers that truly care about their students. Teachers need more support and encouragement from the community. A few Parents that spend too much time griping at the school instead of making their kids accountable for their actions contributes to a LOT. The teachers are spread thin and then given the blame for whatever goes wrong. The community needs to wake up and take care of the people that part time raise their children or they are going to run out or wear down all the teachers that are actually worth keeping.

Despite a handful of great teachers, there was little incentive to excel academically. Should have done my research prior to moving here. Now we are trying to leave.
--Submitted by a parent

Italy High School can be summed up in three words: Failure to achieve. I could point out some exceptional teachers and staff but unfortunately they can only reach so many students and can only do so much. Being a student who wasn't interested in athletics, I was, for the most part, ignored. Yes i participated in other extra-curricular activities but that meant next to nothing compared to the sporty students, that's the attitude of the the place: if you don't play, you're on your own. On the side of academics, yeah they'll give you a training to pass the standardized tests, but those are really different than the things I've run into in college, had I not learned from outside sources, I would have been totally unprepared even for junior college. The management, when I attended was nothing short of a circus act. The principle was childish, scheduling was outdated and ineffective (the same 8 classes every day as opposed to an A/B system), and disciplinary system was also wholly ineffective. Students had little to no respect for rules and staff. Take my advice parents, if you're coming to the area, try one of the many fine districts around this one because IISD simply does not cut it.

Good small school. I like the class sizes. Kids get lots of opportunities to be involved in lots of things if they want. Anew superintedent and a school finance bill will be good things. There are some very good teachers here.
--Submitted by a parent

IHS about 4-5 years ago had it together but after the principals changed and the supt. dumped his wife for the nurse most everybody lost respect. The teachers tried to teach us but there's not enough time in class. They still cram 8 periods in one day. Some teachers gave up but the strong ones still try. No one cares about the smarter guys & the jocks get all the glory. The main deal that could improve is move that lady principal to another school and get someone they can respect. She's just plain mean and even rude to teachers. The head principal is OK but the others gotta go. My parents want my sister to transfer next year to Ennis. IHS needs help.Students and teachers hate the bad attitudes at IHS. School board kids get all the breaks. At least the coaches are cool and so is band. That's it.
--Submitted by a former student

If you are expecting the Italy High School of days gone by, forget it. It's lost its magic and the quality has gone down. My child tells me she hasn't learned anything. Very few of the teachers are excited about teaching their subjects. The discipline is the problem as far as I can see. The kids do not respect the administration and the administration is so busy dodging bullets that no one is paying attention to a learning atmosphere. We just teach our kids at home what we feel they need in addition to the IHS so-called curriculum. Sad but true.
--Submitted by Cheryl Ann Smith, a parent