John Tyler High School

John Tyler High had a scary batch of students after the Katrina Hurricane sent a lot of New Orleans refugees there (that kid who stabbed the teacher was one). They've all moved on now of course, and the district has improved security. It doesn't help though that ALL of the district's kids are sent to TWO high schools. Entirely too cramped! They really need to build another high school.
--Submitted by a parent

From what I read & as a former teacher with MANY years of experience from another district, it sounds like the administration & staff need a huge raise for even staying. It sounds as if the school's student body needs a reform. The merchandise is BAD!!! Try to hang in there, teachers.
--Submitted by a teacher

My daughter-in-law was a teacher at this school for one year. During that time she encountered daily altercations between students. There were either gang or racially motivated. The administration was helpless to do anything. One of the teachers was fatally stabbed by a student. The faculty is so concerned for their own safety and trying to maintain discipline that they have little time to do any real teaching. Even though jobs are hard to get these days, my daughter-in-law quit her job at the end of the year rather than go back again. The school district needs to wake up to the situation and get some discipline going, starting with uniforms for all students, and active presence of competent law enforcement on campus. Get the parents involved too.

I am a teacher at this school. John Tyler has problems. We have been through several principals in the last few years--our current principal was not even allowed to finish serving to the end of the year, but was removed and replaced with someone from the District who knew how to manage the campus. We are currently looking at a new principal to find a good fit for next year. Not to say that the principal was our school's only problem, of course. The majority of my 10th grade students start the school year with poor reading/interpretation skills, a complete lack of study skills, and absolutely no investment in their futures or academic success. It doesn't help that some other teachers on campus are too lax, letting students use phones, listen to music, curse, and act crude in the school. What JT needs is strong leadership, consistency, and support.
--Submitted by a teacher

I am a student at UT Tyler and in accordance with educator preperation classes, I conducted my last 2 months of the semester at John Tyler High. To be honest, after hearing numerous bad reviews of the students, the teachers and the school itself, I was understandably nervous. By the end of my 2 months, I was almost in tears at the thought of having to leave the students and the teacher I had the pleasure of working with. In fact, I returned to the school on my own time to spend more time in the classroom. I agree that new teachers that really care about the students and their education would be a good addition to the school, but this idea is only based on my encounter with one teacher! The students are more than capable to reach their dreams....someone just needs to help guide them through the rough patches.

I think John Tyler needs new teachers that actually care, and the administraters have no control over the students
--Submitted by a student

This is one of the worst schools I've ever encountered. The children are out of control and the administration is completely ineffective in dealing with them. Reading and writing skills are abyssimally low.
--Submitted by a teacher

John Tyler is an outstanding school. I had one student graduate from John Tyler last year and was well prepared for college. Dr. McFarland has done a outstanding job of removing the barriers to a college education for his students. My daughter and many of her classmates were able to take numerous college visits during the senior year and was given quite a bit of one on one help with scholarships and college enrollment applications. If I am not mistaken over 95% of her classmates were accepted to college and her entire class recieved over $5 million dollars in scholarships. I am excited about his leadership and the changes he is making at the school. I have a 9th grade student and she loves the school and her teachers. They are already talking to her about college. I wish more people in the community recognized the outstanding things happening at JT.
--Submitted by a parent

John Tyler is OK, but nothing like it use to be! I believe that some of the teachers should be replaced with teachers who actually care.
--Submitted by a student

As a former student of John Tyler High School and a graduate of Robert E Lee, out of the two schools I would prefer John Tyler any day. While I attended school there I had great teachers who were willing to help and without any hesitation. I also attended Chapel Hill High School and out the three I would put John Tyler at #1. I was enrolled in several AP classes and found them very challenging and rewarding John Tyler also is respected in the area for its athletics having won 3 state championships in football. I loved every aspect of John Tyler and still do to this very day and I rank it number one in East Texas.
--Submitted by a former student