Medical Lake High School

I have experience having children in elementary, middle and high school in the Medical Lake School District and am GREATLY disappointed!! Expectations overall are incredibly low and the sudents are not held accountable. Sure, the teachers are nice, but the education is lacking on multiple levels!
--Submitted by a parent

This school has very few AP classes. It told me nothing about Running Start. They left me feeling extremely unprepared for college besides a select few teachers . Advisory period is the biggest joke as students sit around on their cell phones and gossip. The clubs are usually unorganized and do not have much leadership or guidance. McSmith and his followers seem to be more concerned with making as many changes to the school as possible regardless of consequences rather than making a few changes for the benefit of the students.

For the most part this District is not the best choice if you have other options. There are a few good teachers. However, District administration has little concern for academic excellence and seems to be more concerned with cutting budgets for school programs rather than taking personal pay cuts. The school district administration and district office operate secretly in handling parents complaints and issues. Most things are swept under the rug by this tight knit group of individuals who work closely together in formulating parent responses to any complaints or suggestions. Teachers fall in line and say what they are told to say. This district needs a complete overhaul from the top down.
--Submitted by a parent

First of all let me say that the teachers of this school that my son has had the last 3 years have been wonderful! Everyone my son has had has been very approachable and helpful. My disappointment with the school comes from various different levels otherwise. Clubs should be before school or after school, and not during the advisory period. Advising is a joke at this school; I contacted my son's advisor in his junior year about college prep. and she said they don't even address it until Senior year, which is far too late to begin the process. Pam Veltry, the school superintendent needs to be voted out! She is more worried about getting new offices for the district than she cares about books, classes or quality hot lunches for the students! Their priorities are messed up; I have had to fight to get books for some classes.
--Submitted by a parent

At my daughters request, I have pulled her from MLHS and she will now be attending a private christian school. The school needs to really start thinking more about the education of the kids.
--Submitted by a parent

MLHS needs great improvement. MLHS has some really awsome teachers but there are good and there are bad teachers. You can definately tell which ones are there just for their pay check those who don't care about the education of the kids. Students are constantly being put down, and if your a minority in the school its 10 times worse off for them. They need to re-evaluate what is really going on. Many parents and students have brought such issues to principles, and higher authority and nothing seems to get done. Its not fair to the parent or the child, because in return the child gets repremanded when he or she returns to school. Don't get me wrong there is a great handfull of teachers who give the time to work with their students and get to know them one on one and know whats going on in their lives.
--Submitted by a student

I have been in the Medical Lake School District since kindergarten. My experirnces there have gotten worse and worse. There have been many occasions in which I have brought a specific question or concern to the the principle that were soon discarded. I never felt like I was taken seriously. The teachers, howerver, do show genuine concern for the students and the counselors are superb
--Submitted by a student

Small, homey, nice people. But the academic rigor is, well, there is none. The counseling service consists mostly of changing your child's schedule and does minimal to zero in helping kids push for college/scholarships etc. Teachers are not very demanding and accept late work as the 'norm'. The goal at MLHS is to graduate, but there does not seem much push towards having 'goals' outside of that. It's a very small school, and you get the hometown clique feeling--especially if you're not a local. Seems they keep some of the teacher's because they went to MLHS and live here--whether or not they are 'good teachers' isn't really the case. The one good thing is the communication between parents and teacher's, because it is so small. The skyward family access is a wonderful tool to keep tabs on a student's classwork. Teacher's need to raise the bar and push the kids.
--Submitted by a parent

I think the district s priorities are mixed up. It spends more on administration than students and learning. Overall I think the high school is mediocre and the middle school is the pits. If you have a child with special needs make sure you research everything you are told. Otherwise your child will not get the education they are entitled to. The high school counselor is a joke. He never follows through and I think he is incapable of doing his job effectively. My daughter didn t understand linear equations, we asked for help and the teacher said oh its ok a lot of the kids don t either. The reform math practices just sends her on without any understanding. The assistant principal at the high has no integrity. This schools needs to clean house and revisit its priorities and fast.
--Submitted by a parent

In the three years that our daughter has attended MLHS, our experiences for the most part have been very positive. We like the small town feel of the school and the teachers seem to work really hard with the students and take the time to get to know them on a personal basis. Overall, we are very happy with the school's administration, faculty and quality of education our daughter has received at MLHS.
--Submitted by a parent