Whitney High School

16800 Shoemaker Avenue

School District

Abc Unified
Grade

7-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:29
Type

public

School Map for Abc Unified School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by other on June 27, 2024

Attending Whitney was a phenomenal experience due to the support of the teaching faculty, staff, and my peers. The rigorous curriculum prepares students well for college and beyond.
Submitted by other on August 13, 2020

Although it is one of the top 3 in the state, the quality of education at Whitney High School underserves the potential of the students. The competition that the students face is unbearable; the teachers and staff do not show interest in the students' educational goals, yet expect the students to learn concepts independently. Because of the small population of the school, the classes that are offered are limited; this doesn't allow students to experiment with their career options in high school. The counselors do not help or guide the kids to achieve their goals. The students are constantly worried that they will not get into the college of their choice even though they have worked through Whitney's rigorous teaching and grading systems. Colleges will not take into account the amount of work the students put in to trying to succeed in such a competitive environment; they will only look at the range of kids in the top 15% of the class. Because of these reasons, students are constantly dropping out Whitney as they prefer to go to regular public schools, where they will have a better chance of getting into the college of their choice. However, because of the small population of the school, the students are all well connected. Since the majority of them have similar interests, the students are able to make friends quickly. The school is heavily focused on STEM fields and has a very limited range of classes for students that may want to pursue a career in non-STEM related fields. I would suggest not going to Whitney High School, unless you would prefer to study independently and can compete in the rat race.
Submitted by parent on October 28, 2016

There's no doubt Whitney is a fantastic school with great students, excellent teachers, and a caring staff. But readers of this site should know that Whitney's guidance department is lacking considerably. In CA, school counselors are required to hold a school counseling credential called the PPS. Only one individual holds a PPS, Sasha Leonardo who primarily focuses on college and career. In fact her desk is located in the school's college and career center. She doesn't advise students on academic schedules, course selection, discipline, attendance, or social/personal issues. She's basically a private college apps consultant sitting in their school. For academic advisement, instead of seeing individuals with an actual school counseling credential, students see their student advisers, Yen Tseng and Sunny Yun. If you look up these individuals on the CA CTC site, you will find that they only hold teaching credentials, and therefore have no training in advisement or counseling. I am sure a lot can be said about these individuals and the good work they do with students every day. And the school also has a full time social worker on campus. However, many schools in the district, both large and small, have both a full time social worker and school counselors. And to suggest that the kids at Whitney, the best in the district, don't need counseling is absurd, as any teacher can attest to the effects of stress and pressure on high achieving students.Perhaps Whitney lucked out with Yen Tseng and Sunny Yun, two teachers with a knack for counseling. But when these individuals leave, it would be important for the welfare of the students that they be replaced by credentialed counselors, people who are most qualified through training and experience to sit in a counseling office. No public school in CA could get away with a non-credentialed teacher teaching classes on their campus. What Whitney has done is offensive to the profession of school counseling and is certainly in violation of ASCA standards.
Submitted by other on December 06, 2015

Great school, absolutely wonderful. Great atmosphere and education!!!!Go Whitney Wildcats! Still #1. Wooo! Keep striving!
Submitted by student on March 14, 2015

I am a Freshman at Whitney High School and these past 3 years have been the best. It is really enjoyable how small the population of our school is. This creates for a tightly bonded family whatever grade hey are in. Anyone can fit in with ease due to the large diversity of student's interests. The teachers will go above and beyond to help their students achieve their greatest potential. Most teachers have office hours where they will be more than glad to assist you. All the teachers that I've had in the past have been tremendously inspiring and motivating and truly do a good job in their fields. The academic pressure at Whitney is very high compared to other schools. Here at Whitney students believe that anything lower than an A- will ruin their career. This mindset that drives students to perform well in class. Everyone strives for the greatest so it motivates you to go above and beyond. I feel that Whitney has prepared me for college because the College and Career Center. They have scholarships available for any grade and will assist you in achieving your goals. Overall Whitney has been the greatest experience of my life and I can't wait to see where it brings me in the future.
Submitted by parent on April 28, 2014

I am a parent of Whitney high school in cerritos. Both my boys go here and I cant believe how much the staff and councelors help the students when ever they need them. The front office staff are great. The school prepares our kids very well that make them survive in any college later in life. we love this school!
Submitted by other on April 28, 2014

I attended Whitney from 1989-1994 and went on to attend UCLA and graduate school thereafter. It was a very academically focused school and I found that there was the constant positive peer pressure of getting into a good college and participating in extracurricular activities. People are still very impressed that I went to Whitney and it does somewhat guarantee that you'll be successful in life. I didn't have the best grades but still got into the best CA schools by virtue of the fact that I attended Whitney. The best thing about Whitney is that you get a private school education for free (if you can get in that is). Also, it's free of wannabe gangsters, potheads, mean girls, etc., that you'll find at most other schools.
Submitted by other on January 19, 2014

I'm an eighth grader currently attending Whitney. The staff goes abovw and beyond for us. They're very interactive, and I've become close to a lot of them. Whitney High is full of oppurtunities for students, and it's full of achievers. It's small, which makes all the students closer. We call ourselves the Whitney Family. I love how the older students befriend the 7th and 8th graders. It's very comforting to have older figures that treat you like siblings. Whitney has the BEST music program, and our brand new 6 million dollar media arts center shows it off well. I am so blessed to be here.
Submitted by parent on April 23, 2013

My daughter went to this chool. Academically it prepared her to become a doctor. She learned a lot in this school. Children graduated from thsi school can go in any college and they do well.
Submitted by other on January 26, 2013

I went to this school almost a decade ago. The school provided a motivating environment but it placed too strong of an emphasis on test-taking over other skills such as critical thinking. The trend toward the end of my time there was to cut classes and programs for students, which is sad because students lost many opportunities to discover their talents and abilities.
Submitted by other on January 15, 2013

I am a 1994 Whitney graduate. I attended from 7-12 grade. The environment was very academically focused, although extracurriculars were emphasized too. Most of my classmates were very driven as was I. Some of the teachers were better than others but it didn't really matter. The students pushed themselves to succeed. I think the best part about Whitney is that the student body is made up of overachievers with no interest in pursuing destructive behaviors. Peer pressure is inevitable and at Whitney you have a lot of positive peer pressure. Going to a Cal state was just not acceptable or good enough. Most of my classmates are today very successful doctors, attorneys, and other professionals and businessmen. On the downside, 7th and 8th girls are exposed to older male suitors whether their parents like it or not, lol.
Submitted by other on December 26, 2012

This is the best school in the whole wide world. Those people that think it's bad go take a look at it. You guys don't know nothing. Whitney has a high HPI score that means they have good teachers.
Submitted by other on December 21, 2012

Those who say bad things about the teachers here know nothing. As a student, I can say that our school has better teachers than you'll find anywhere else. They're very interactive with their students and do more than just educate us--they provide us with the guidance we need to get through school and, even further, life. This is the kind of close-knit community Whitney is, and there's a reason why we call ourselves the "Whitney family". Everybody has a place here, including the teachers and staff. The teachers are an especially big part of our lives at Whitney because they see us grow up from 7th grade to senior year. An speaking in terms of academics, yes, the teachers are excellent. Why else would our API score always bring us up to top 10 every year? Why else would we have one of the highest graduation, AP passing, and college entrant rates in the nation?
Submitted by parent on October 21, 2012

We had two children graduate from Whitney and were pleased with the experience. Friendships were forged in college and work afterwards with them reminiscing high school days. Alumni and community events are a welcome, too. We appreciate staff, student and community efforts that continue to make the school a pride spot in Cerritos. Thanks.
Submitted by other on October 02, 2012

i am currently a student at WHS, and I have to say that it DEFINITELY is not easy. plus, because you are competing with other HIGHLY intelligent students, so if you rank, let's say, 30th at WHS, you'd probably be in the top 10 at another high school. Therefore, when you apply for college, you probably will seem normal compared to the 29 people above you. However, it is very challenging, yet very fun at the same time. However, WHS does mostly concentrate just on academics. Perhaps the band program is the only exception: the band program is very enjoyable and unique. You grow very much musically. However, sports-wise, WHS is HORRIBLE, with the exception of girl's volleyball. We don't even have a football team. Also, since there are only about 900 (150 per grade, 7-12 grade) students, you get to know more of the people: there is a sense of closeness. Overall, this is a great school to attend, but if you're not doing well by getting failing grades, detentions, etc., you might have a really hard time at WHS- they DO give you a lot of work to do.
Submitted by parent on August 28, 2012

The teachers are terrible. This school has a high API, but that doesn't necessarily mean it has good quality teachers and quality education. The workload is unbearable. Just because the name is Whitney doesn't mean it is a good school. TEACHERS DON'T EVEN MAKE AN EFFORT TO EXPLAIN A CONCEPT TWICE IF A CHILD DOESN'T UNDERSTAND IT. CHILDREN ARE MORE INDEPENDENT THAN THEY SHOULD BE AND HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPTS THEMSELVES. This is their childhood-it doesn't come back. Let them enjoy and have fun. Don't forget that top colleges like Stanford don't only select students from Whitney, they select students from other schools and bad schools also. It depends on the student. If he/she is hardworking, they can pass any obstacle.
Submitted by other on April 21, 2011

Graduated from here- and of all my family friends/ cousins/ anyone else in my life that was going to highschool at the same time ( 1999-2004) , I had the best experience. oh and i got into ucla just fine.
Submitted by other on April 10, 2011

Sure it's an academically oriented college PREP high school, but by attending Whitney, that student has a lower chance of getting into top-notch colleges like UCLA and such, given the fact that that student is competing with other highly intelligent students within the class. This high school is basically like another college, work-load wise, and is a good school to prepare for college. But a student's GPA and college app will be higher/stand out more in a high school like Cerritos High rather than Whitney because of that.
Submitted by other on January 29, 2011

4 Reasons Why Whitney Can do Better. The teachers are not great. They are usually inexperienced and lack professionalism. They like to say "we won't take your hand and walk you through it" but essentially they create a distance from themselves and their students' successes. The program does not prepare students for college. Tardy sweeps? Detention? Grow up Whitney. Your students are better than that. Students do well because the school only recruits high test-scorers. Duh.. Parents are not involved and principalship at the school has lost touch of the "family" aspect of Whitney High. Ask for the PTA and you'll be led into an empty conference room.
Submitted by parent on April 19, 2010

High academic achievement & caring faculty.