West Seattle High School

The school is great and there are many courses for students to take! Sadly, I feel like there aren't as many clubs as other schools that I have seen.

West Seattle High School is a pretty good school and the teachers are great teachers too!
—Submitted by a parent

Many students have attitudes and disrespectful attitudes to other students or teachers. Many hood rats inside of this school, such as: graffiti in school bathrooms, etc ..
—Submitted by a parent

West Seattle High School is a great school with a bunch of Great Kids!
—Submitted by a parent

It is the best diversified school in Seattle

I'm a sophomore at WSHS & I love it, to be honest :) I was hesitant to go here at first, but I've learned to love it. I hated it last year but that was because of personal problems & for that, I can't blame the school. They have great extracurricular avtivites & clubs. There's TATU, FCCLA, National Honor Society, Earthcrops, & many more. Some students doesn't like it here because it's 'boring', but that's because there are rarely any more fights or drama. Is that what school is about? No, it's about the education. It's very diverse and the education is great. Although some classes get out of hand, it's still great because the teachers know how to handle it. There are some students & teachers that need to leave the school but overall, I love this school :)
—Submitted by a student

I do not agree. WSHS is at the lower middle in terms of achievment. One of mine opted for WSHS the other Kennedy... the rigors of the latter were far tougher than WSHS. It is a better social enviornment, but that is not where I prefer to send my kids.
—Submitted by a parent

Bruce Bivins tenure at West Seattle High School has been exemplary. Faced with a new position and a daunting task of reforming the entire academic format and cirriculum at Carla Santorno's mandate (transition from the 4 period day to the 6 period day) has not phased him. He has been a very strong, effective and insprirational leader. We are so lucky to have him. He is what is great about public education, tireless, dedicated, professional and manages to be charismatic and respectful at the same time. Bruce Bivins introduction to West Seattle High School for this school year of 2007-2008 has been a blessing and I pray we can keep him forever. He is a fabulous role model for the students.
—Submitted by a parent

As a teacher in one of the premier private highschools in Seattle, and parent of a son who is graduating from WSHS, let me tell you that the quality of staff at WSHS is no different than the quality of staff in the private sector. I am very happy that we chose to enter our son into public school. I truly believe that other than the academic education, he learned to function in a highly diverse environment and carve out his space. There will be a new principal this year, hopefully one with passion and leadership skills, someone who can gain the faculty's respect.
—Submitted by a parent

I am currently a student at WSHS and after reading some of the reviews, some of them are definately not true. The teachers and counseling staff do care about our success at school. They do a great job of keeping us on track with our credits. I don't believe that WSHS is a terrible school as some people have described it to be. I have been a straight A student all through school and I know now that i am taking honors classes its going to be very difficult to keep my 4.0 GPA. WSHS is actually a great school for kids who want to be there and who want to do well in school, so if your child is doing bad at WSHS, its not the teachers or staffs fault its your son or daughters and partially your fault as a parent. Dont blame the school. thanks =)
—Submitted by Alex, a student

My daughter graduated from West Seattle High School in 2005. I was very pleased with her education overall. She had teachers who truly cared about her and encouraged her, allowing her to graduate on-time with her class even though she had fallen behind in credits during her freshman year. I feel the administrative leadership has declined, however, with the change in principals a few years ago. The previous principal, who was moved to Ballard High School, was excellent. I only wish he had been able to stay at WSHS. Overall, this is a strong high school.
—Submitted by a parent

Our student had the opportunity to go to a private school but we chose to give WSHS a chance. We have regretted our decision! The 'Source' is optional and so far we have found that the teachers do not post assignments that are due. I sat in on one of my sons classes and was amazed at all the disruptions in class (water bottles being thrown, cell phones being used and talking). Know wander my son has difficulties focusing in class. The teachers have to many students! The anterooms Principal and Vice Principal are wonderful! Wish we could keep them. I guess you pay for what you get. Go Private!
—Submitted by a parent

From what I have seen from WSHS, the teachers and couselors have little to no interest in the seuccess of the children they teach. I feel that WSHS being on the School Choice option list has harmed this school. WSHS is in a good neighborhood and families that live in the area are middle to upper middle class families.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm not a parent, but a student at WS. I just wanted to comment on 'Internet Access 2002-2003 '100% of classrooms in this school have computers that are connected to the Internet.' Although every classroom is wired to the internet does not mean there are computers in there for student use. Several classrooms don't have computers in them other than one for teacher use.