Newton County High School

16255 Mississippi 503

School District

Newton County
Grade

6-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:10
Type

public

School Map for Newton County 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 parent on February 26, 2023

I am a parent of three children. The last will graduate May 2023. When our oldest started, there were many positive aspects of this school. The school has declined significantly before she graduated. We had trouble with teacher/staff bullying a physically disabled student. When I reported to JO Amis, he assured me that a teacher telling a student that they "didn't look right" and "her arms were too short" was not discrimination. It has gotten much worse as the years have progressed. There have been several principal changes at the high school level. Wonderful and excellent teachers have left. There are educators that our inclusive to our child. Our last has visual and several physical disabilities. I have met/called/emailed the principal, special education director, and superintendent attempting to get the services and accommodations needed for him to be a productive student. The last incident involving the principal was a telephone conversation. My last was present for the telephone conversation and heard the language and tone of voice the principal used to discuss the student's disabilities. Since May 2016, the school has not developed an independent health care plan. This prevented the student from attending his senior State Beta Convention.
Submitted by parent on August 05, 2015

Sadly, over the last two or three years two factors have forced this school to decline in status. #1 is how they are implementing the Common Core curriculum. The administration has chosen to severely limit class selection for middle and high school students making it difficult for advanced students to get challenging classes on their schedule. The school administration has demonstrated a disdain for students seeking transfer to MSMS or MSA so they purposely arrange for students to not get the classes they need to qualify. #2 is the current administration seems to be doing everything possible to push away students who want to achieve. Decisions seem to be arbitrary and in many situations they aren't aware of current laws or policy decisions that affect how they should be running the school. This is sad because the school does have good programs - strong football, an active choir program, a huge band program and a caring TAG teacher. However, these high points can't make up for all the head-butting one has to do just to get a decent education. The school could be nationally competitive but refuses to do what is needed to get there.