Vashon Island High School

Vashon has a history of marginal performance in Special Education. New leadership is attempting to make changes in elementary and middle school, but when the kids get to high school, they are essentially warehoused. This does a tremendous disservice to students who have an ability to learn but need individualized help to succeed. The principal likes to brag about having a "college prep" curriculum for the typical students - which is nonsense. VHS is a good public school but it is not a prep school. And the attitude toward the needs of Special Ed students is hugely disappointing.
--Submitted by a parent

The school is very distant towards student goals, but a small school?-It has good a drama department, but it's academic attentiveness isn't that spectacular.
--Submitted by a parent

This school lacks diverse extra-curricular programs, and has very low funding. It's very average, and teachers are very particular.
--Submitted by a parent

The High school seems to be very disorganized with it's students, and extracurricular programs-especially considering it's new grading systems-all being a teacher's customized preferred method. The school is harder but none of that shows on transcripts, adding to an illusion of a advanced high school, the teachers also appear to play "favorites" leaving less room for other students to manifest their form of academic excellence. Pretty much- there's a lot of students who are just good at memorizing stuff, then disposing of it having no real foresight into the future or lessons learned, or what their really interested in, they're just good at "school", and this high school encourages this pattern.
--Submitted by a parent

The school diverts a lot of it's income away from academic departments, and councilors aren't that concerned about student plans or schedules.
--Submitted by a parent

Besides cosmetic and income issues, I have never seen a better high school. The teachers are well qualified, student body is accepting and diverse, and the class size is small.
--Submitted by a parent

I love Vashon! The teachers there aren't the kind that stand in front of the class giving hour long lectures, but instead you do many hands on activities involving the kids so they learn while having fun. Every teacher I know at Vashon is 100% committed to helping their students learn, even if it means staying after school for for hours! Parent involvement is high at Vashon. It is such a small community that parents are needed to help. Whether it is volunteering for field trips, chaperoning dances, or even helping around in the office, parents are always welcomed and needed at Vashon. The extracurricular activities at VHS are amazing! I cant even name all the activities there are so many!
--Submitted by a parent

Vashon High School tries it's best. While they do offer some AP classes, offering sare still limted simply because there are not enough kids to take them. Motivated students often travel off island to local community colleges to take high level classes. On the postive side, parents are highly involved, and the community is quite supportive. Arts and music are top priorities, as are some sports. Overall, it is a great little school in a unqiue community.
--Submitted by a parent

This is a great school with wonderful teachers and fun extra-curricular activities.
--Submitted by a student

I am a student at Vashon High School. It is the only public high school on Vashon Island, but the quality is fairly high compared to Seattle schools. There is a strong sense of community, a good education system, and experienced teachers who are willing to give 100% to their teaching. Want proof? Check out how many Seattle students commute to Vashon for the purpose of attending the high school. Substance abuse is probably equal to other schools, but our principal has recently begun taking strong action against it, the most notable action is the recent threat to cancel prom if students didn't agree to come sober and clean, and if any students attend under the influence, serious reprocutions are in store, such as possible cancelation of future dances and events. Needless to say, this has given students a serious wake-up call. Obviously, the staff is very commited and caring.
--Submitted by a student