Seneca High School

Declining enrollment is an outdated comment - enrollment is up from 267 for school year ending 2010, to 288 for year ending 2011, and is currently 322 for the 2011-2012 school year. While some students opt to open enroll to neighboring districts for different reasons, such as a theater program unavailable at Seneca, more students open enroll into this District than out for the opportunities available and the personalized attention each student receives. Administration and teachers are responsive to parental involvement when it comes to individual student needs. Students are exposed to many world experiences, advanced placement academics, vocational training through an envied agricultural program, and extracurricular activities in both sports and academics. While improvements could be made in teaching methods (project based learning vs. standard memorization) there exists in this caring community the opportunity for every student to achieve a rigorous education. The school is strongly supported by the community, and is further financially supported by the well-funded Seneca Educational Foundation. Tax bills received in Dec. 2011 revealed a stabilization or lowering of tax.
--Submitted by a parent

My husband and I made the decision this year to open enroll our daughter to Prairie du Chien. The opportunities will have there are about 3 times that of ours, so we are excited to see how she responds to the new environment and opportunities. The district was very divided a couple years ago by some people who wanted to consolidate. There is no talk of consolidation now, but we are not the only ones who have decided to open enroll our children. It is sad, but I think eventually this school will be closed someday.
--Submitted by a parent

I have 2 boys in the Seneca school district. There ages are 12yrs and 10yrs. They love Seneca school,they love there teachers,and the community they live in. I have no doubts that my boys should go to a different school. Keep up the great work Teachers and other staff at Seneca School District.
--Submitted by a parent

I am very satisfied with my education at Seneca High School. The extracurriculars offered at Seneca are great, especially when you compare to other small schools in the area. Their Ag and FFA programs are second-to-none compared to the surrounding school districts and receive state recognition often. I am a pre-med major in college right now, and I have had no problems with the rigorous college curriculum, which I attribute to the quality of education I received at SHS. If a class is not offered at Seneca, students have the option to take classes via the distance learning lab and/or online. The only negative is that there has been a big influx of weekenders to the district which has thrown the property taxes and state funding way out of whack. Also, those weekenders who stay permanently in the area aren't very involved in the school district.
--Submitted by a student

This school has seen declining enrollment since the 90s. In 2009 total district enrollment was 271, or an average of 24 kids per class. The district has made cuts to help control costs, to the point that some classes are combined. E.G. Accounting 1 and 2 are taught in the same period at the same time, by the same teacher. Curriculum is good for a small school, but poor by state standards. In the last 3 years, our property taxes have gone up 50%. We are paying more, for less quality education, and less extra-curriculars. We wish we would have researched this more prior to moving into the district.
--Submitted by a parent