Henry M. Jackson High School

As a parent of three Graduates and one student still in Jackson, I find the parents and students who complain do not have much faith in themselves, or the school. My three Graduates loved Jackson and have all gone on to college and now have great jobs. One is a senior financial officer at Starbucks, one is a lawyer, and one is a buyer for childrens clothing for Fred Meyer, yes all that cute close in the boys department she picked out. If you put half and effort into it you can really come out of it with a great deal.
—Submitted by a parent

Both of my children have attended Jackson High School and I must say that II am most certainly not impressed with the quality of education. It seems that the school is more concerned with sports. There is a lack of discipline in the classrooms and instructors spend too much time with unruly kids who clearly don't want to learn. The school should offer more AP classes or IB classes so that students like mine and others can prosper and be ready for attending a 4 year college or university.
—Submitted by a parent

Jackson has it's perks, but it's not my favorite school to go to. After my first year at Jackson, I have learned that they don't do much to honor the students who receive a high GPA, and spend too much money for sports and cheerleaders, when the money should be spent on the band, or more academics. I am not a band kid, but I support them and enjoy their music. Plus, Jackson is known for it's band going to New York to play at Carnegie Hall, but the Pep band is basically being ignored by the school. I think that more money should be used for academics and awarding those who do well in school, instead of sports and a couple million being spent on a cafeteria addition when the cafeteria we have now is fine.
—Submitted by a student

Despite high reviews from other students,I would have to disagree.From an honor student viewpoint,Jackson cares little about further improving the academic achievement of successful students due to lack of honor/ AP classes.For example,honor math&science classes are not offered,meaning that of your student will be mixed with students of all learning levels. This provides a harsh learning environment,b/c the class pace easily becomes too fast or too slow for certain students. Academic quality also depends on the teacher.Teacher quality vastly ranges. There is an excellent English program, but the math and science departments are lacking(they may be improving with new teachers). It really depends what you are looking for in a school,b/c Jackson does have good extracurricular options. Jackson is just not for advanced college prep-with the exception of 1-5 standout students. Most graduates attend a WA college -either a CC or a 4 yr. Only ~20 go to UW.
—Submitted by a student

My son is a student at Jackson High School. I am a high school teacher in another school district. I have had the opportunity to view Jackson from both a parent and teacher perspective and I am impressed beyond measure. My son came to Jackson after having failed miserably in a different district. At Jackson, they immediately worked to give him the extra support he needed. He was placed in algebra AND algebra support. He was placed in English AND an English support class. He made wonderful progress and ended the year successfully! Whenever I emailed his teachers they responded immediately, and compassionately. The parent access for grades and their children's assignments is unbelievable. I can not thank the Jackson principal and staff enough for what they provide for their students.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a current student at Jackson and so far the school has tought me many things. The Academics are extreamly tought but rewarding and the athletics are scond to none. The School will have a couple of bumps in the way but it helps the students turn into better learners and the teachers and counselers all are there to help us .
—Submitted by a student

I am a current student at Jackson High, and to all the parent whom say that Jackson teachers need to motivate the students to do better. Think again, Jackson Teachers are the only reason I am still in school, if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be returning this year. Furthermore, you, as the parent, should be motivating them to do better. That's your job, the teachers do their part, when will you do yours. Yes, agreed, there are some teachers who don't deserve to be teachers. But where are you going to find a school where this isn't at least one bad teacher. Every where has bad teachers. But overall, the school is great, there may be a bad problem here and there, but that's your job, as the parent, to teach your kids to not give into peer pressure or not make mistakes.
—Submitted by a student

Good art and music programs and highly educated, strict and fun teachers.
—Submitted by a student

I attended Jackson, graduating in 2005. I went to Mill Creek Elementary and Heatherwood Middle before that. When I attended, the school was severely lacking in its math and science programs. Teacher turnover, especially in the sciences, was terrible. Three of my four science teachers had been there less than 2 years. I went on to UW to major in engineering, and my poor background really held me back the first two years until I could catch up. In contrast, the english program is excellent. Students graduate with great writing skills and are well prepared for a major in the liberal arts.
—Submitted by a student

Excellant accessbility to sporting fields
—Submitted by a former student

Excellent school with good tech program. Many good teachers with a few bad mixed in. But most teachers are excellent. Good language program.
—Submitted by a parent

The technology at the school is good. Being a fairly new school, it is pretty clean. Some math teachers are not good. Quality of teachers are about average since there are superior ones and mediocre ones.
—Submitted by a student

I stumbled upon this site while looking for the Jackson website. As an alumni of Jackson (Class of '97) I was amazed at some of the comments that were posted to this site. Since most of these comments are coming from parents it is really sad to see how little they understand about High School and then College. Jackson and it's 4x4 day helped me 100xs better prepared for college than I would have had I attended a six period day. While at Jackson I was able to take to UW English courses and Advanced Calculus all while still being able to enjoy athletics. Parents who say things like 'sometimes the kid just needs that D' are doing a disservice to their kids and need to recheck their priorities. High School is not meant to be easy it is meant to prepare kids for the future.
—Submitted by Michael Lyon, a former student

overall i think this school is terrible. The teachers are not all responsible. I think they should improve their teachers motives to teach kids better.
—Submitted by tom parkin, a parent

Jackson high school can be good but it can also be terrible. There are many good teachers there but there is also one or two terrible ones. Jacksons math department isn't very good but there are a few exceptional math teachers. Like many public schools students have to deal with the buracracy of the school system which i think is terrible at Jackson. If you don't want your son or daughter to be pushed around by worthless rules this school is not for you. They have very good musical programs and an abundance of usefull after school activities. As long as you fight through the system and get the good teachers this school is great.
—Submitted by Jacksonis evil, a parent

I am currently a sophomore at JHS and love our standards. I am not happy about changing from a 4 period day to a 6 period day. I find it funny to see many parents complaing that JHS is 'to hard' for their child, but yet it doesn't offer enough AP classes. One reason JHS is changing is becuase a small, but loud group of parents are unhappy with standerds at JHS. (To high or to low) However, many of the students at JHS are happy with the standards and especally the shceual. Many feshmen don't think they will like the 4X4 day until they experence it. in a 6 period day we won't have enough time in a 6 period say for the year to met mininum college standards. Maybe if parents talked to their child they would find their student is/was happy with the standards set at JHS.
—Submitted by Samantha Frank, a student

As a student at JHS, I feel that Jackson's 'problem' does not lie within the 4x4 system, but within our lack of administrative presence and poor teaching staff. Although there are a handful of remarkable teachers at Jackson, many are teaching classes they are not qualified to teach or simply do not care about the educational well-being of the students. Despite the negatives associated with the 4x4 system, there are several postive aspects to the 4-period day. There is more student-teacher communication, classwork can be further explained if a student does not understand, and the graduation requirements are catered to entering a 4-year university (ie Foreign Language required to graduate, and 3 Math credits vs. 2 credits, etc.) Overall, I feel that Jackson would be a lot more promising and better-viewed if our staff and administration was upgraded, and the 4x4 system was not considered the root of the problem.
—Submitted by a student

Many parents variance their children out of H.M.Jackson High. Many parents I talk to are disatisfied with their child's educational experience and find no one willing to listen to their concerns. Obviously there is a problem - whether it is due to administration, schedule or poor communication is unclear. My student is a 10th grader who had a terrible experience with 9th grade honors - teachers who did not seem to listen or care about parent or student concerns. The year was a wasted one for my student. I am optimistic that Jackson has the potential to be a great school. My student has had a few excellent teachers who worked hard to create an excellent learning environment.
—Submitted by a parent

My child had been at Jackson since 9TH grade. She is now a Sophmore ane we are actively trying to get her out of Jackson. There are several teachers who have chips on their shoulders and when questioned by a parent, responds negatively. The morale of my child due to the grading system has slipped badly in the last two years. I have never heard of a schools grading system dropping from a C to an E. Some children need that 'D'. Jackson was designed to be a prep school for those that wanted to go on to college to pursue a careeer. However, it is a public school and there are several children that do not have the high intelligence that a 'prep' school requires. Overall, I think Jackson High needs to make some big changes if they are going to keep students coming. Teachers need to be more willing to work with students when questioned regarding homework assignments and projects.
—Submitted by a parent

I think there is a real lack of leadership when it comes down to it... This year there have been some positive changes. The Dean and Mr. Flaherty actually talk to the students and get to know them. It's something every Principal who cares about building the communtity needs to do, and the Principal in charge has neglected to do. The environment of the school is very rulebound. The class structure and lack of AP offerings has been another issue. Some teachers carry too large of load or are put in classes to teach subject matter that they don't specialize in. There have been many sticky situations that could have been avoided with a good leader in this school. I hope for improvement or our younger student won't be attending HMJ when he reaches the age.
—Submitted by a parent