Midlothian High School

The reviews here, regarding the Spanish Department, are accurate. Two particular teachers, are completely lacking in ability. If students do finally make it to the competent teacher's classroom, they are so far behind that it seems hopeless to catch-up. Additionally, if you are considering the IB program DON'T DO IT. The administration, and some of the long-time teachers, completely miss the boat with this. Have your kids take AP courses instead. IB is the red-haired step child of MHS. The students work beyond the reasonable, and receive little recognition. Their GPS's reflect a higher cum, but their letter grades get slammed --- and those are the grades that colleges and scholarship folks look at. Many teachers teach to the IB Exams. The things is that these exams have little impact, beyond "bragging rights" for the students. Success or failure on these exams has no impact on college acceptance. Yet HS GPA's are ruined so that a teacher can "over teach" a subject to cover potential IB exam questions and point out on his/her salary neg. their success rate on IB exams. Very, very frustrating. I write this as the parent of a successful and active student.
--Submitted by a parent

As a current AP and Honors student here in Midlothian, I can say with absolute certainty that there is a lot of underlying competition going on between the entire class body. Although, I can't say the same for the students who aren't taking AP or Honors classes. It is not a secret that we hold nothing but contempt for those who do. We see them as people who aren't trying their best and are just lazy kids who don't care about their academic excellence. We care so much about the class rigor we take that it has somehow transformed into an academic hierarchy. Those on top are obviously students taking AP and Honors classes. Then followed by all Honors, which are followed by the Z and C level student. Of course, with this sort of mentality going around, most students here are detached and cool towards kids who have a mental disability. We simply have no patience for them. The teachers are wonderful. They are helpful and always push their students to do their best. They are blunt when needed, but they never not go out of their way to help a student. Overall, I say that Midlothian are not for teenagers who want nothing out of their high school experience other than a fun & relaxing time.
--Submitted by a student

My child recently finished high school at Midlothian High. Great school, smart kids, many wonderful, involved teachers. Just stay away from the Spanish Department. The staff is so poor and the administration doesn't care to change it. For a few years, my child could do an entire assignment and leave one blank for something he didn't understand, and receive an F for the assignment due to the blank. To follow the rules, I had to encourage him to "just put something in the blank" so he could survive homework assignments without Fs. My child was a very honest, literal person and thought that was ridiculous. He was right, but they had "departmental rules." I am not the only parent who has been frustrated by this department. Spanish learning should be dynamic, vocal, involving, and interesting. It is a great subject. The Spanish department has a long-lived reputation of poor teaching and the other language classes fill up instead of Spanish--even German! What a shame. I'm so glad my child is out of the program! I had to hire a tutor for 3 years just to get him through. I'm sorry to place this review, because there are so many awesome teachers at Midlothian High.
--Submitted by a parent

I have a child who just finished his first year at MHS. He has an IEP but for the most part was mainstreamed for his classes. I cant say enough about how awesome his teachers and support team were this year. They were all incredibly dedicated, sensitive to his needs, and easy to work with. If you have a child with a disability, this is a good choice. I just wish that this school offered more ethnic diversity in the student body.
--Submitted by a parent

This is my 3rd post about Midlo. High. It is interesting to read what others are saying. I have come to appreciate Midlo more and more now that my kids are out of here and in college. Granted, Midlo was not always a warm and fuzzy place while my kids were there. However, the ultimate grade for a school for me is if it allows students to go on and do what they want when they leave it. My 4 kids all got into good colleges and have made above-average grades. Mrs. Wilson gets a hard time in these ratings and, while she's not especially effusive with warmth, she is caring. She personally recommended two of my kids for special opportunities in summer programs that were beneficial. She also is supportive of the guys in the Scouts and will be seen attending their Eagle Scout ceremonies in her personal time.
--Submitted by a parent

Midlothian High School is inept. It lives off its Top 100 ranking and caters to the IB and AP programmed students disregarding everyone else. The teachers vary from wonderful to absolutely horrible. The administration is a joke. The principal will do little to nothing to help and makes it nearly impossible to drop a class if you are not in a higher level class or failing. The bullying here is awful and the school does little to nothing to try and fix it. Sure the teachers push students to overachieve and be all they can be, but the cost is overtaxing on the rest of the school. Our 96th (barely hanging in there) rank covers up the mediocrity of our administration. Socioeconomic status matters here and cliques are varied based on wealth. Most students have money and there is little race variation. I wont even start on the Spanish department...
--Submitted by a parent

Interesting school on multiple levels, students tend to think little of the administration, as a parent I have seen nothing to alter that opinion. Academically, thankfully, the school maintains high expecations for students. If they want to learn and push themselves, they will be rewarded. The IB program however is a major disappointment. The academic challenge , again, is superb and prepares the students well for college but does a significant disservice for the best and brightest in their efforts to secure admittance to top level national schools. Strongly suggest your scholars go with the AP route not IB if they have high end college asperations. Finally, for your sanity - stay away from the Spanish Department. Had a child strugge to earn a D+ in the program and tested into 3rd language level at college on day one ( earning an 'A' in frosh year at nationally known private university.
--Submitted by a parent

Administration doesn't even try to tend to student's needs. Guidance doesn't attempt to fix a student's schedule if the student is doing poorly in that class and cannot seem to pull grade up or respond to extra help. Teachers are wonderful, but everything else fails in comparison. If your child is coming from a different district, coming out of homeschooling or just not an A, B average student, don't expect them to make more than D's and F's here.

My son is a sophmore and has an IEP. He has been working very hard in order to minimize his learning disability so he can get into a good college. The school and his teachers have been going the extra mile to support his efforts. We are particularly impressed with his IEP counselor.
--Submitted by a parent

Midlothian HS is challenging. It demands more from the students than most HS. My daughter came from th Fl. school system which is very bad in my opinion. Once she understood the demands, she has met the challenge. When moving to this area, we were location driven by the school system. We know we made the correct decision.
--Submitted by a parent