Dobbs Ferry High School

505 Broadway

School District

Dobbs Ferry Union Free
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:10
Type

public

School Map for Dobbs Ferry Union Free 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 student on November 04, 2023

This school is a mix of townies or city move outs and it's extremely judgey. The teachers will either be great or horrible and administration doesn't do much. BTW, just to put it out there, school hours are 8:12-3:20, not 7:05-3:05. The learning is iffy, IB is like the only good thing about this school because without it, we wouldn't have a rep. IB is a junior/senior year program where you can take an advanced version of every class, it is like AP but different. Most of the juniors are stressed to the max and the teachers stack loads of homework. Seniors as well. The freshmen and sophomores are just given honors options for english, history, science, and math with only one AP class in sophomore year, AP World. The learning experience really depends on the teachers you get, some are horrible and should not have been hired using the expensive tax money people have to pay, while others are angels from heaven. Your understanding of topics especially like math and science are crucial for regents, but it totally depends on which teacher you get. Some teachers are also instigators, like they will be blatantly rude or obviously favor some people and act HORRIDLY to the students they dislike. The guidance office is okay, but most people feel like they really don't help because they will either rat you out on your mental problems after swearing nobody will know, or they will just be useless. The special ed department really tries and needs a raise for the hard work they do, they are basically like caretakers for those students. Really good program for them though, they recently hired graduated special ed kids to be janitors to teach them about world responsibilities. However there are a few students who should not be in regular classes because their behavior is atrocious. The school doesn't do anything to punish those kids or kids in general. I think there's been incidents regarding boys in the school doing things to girls a lot in the past year and the school does NOTHING. There is 0 discipline. People are extremely clichey, if you aren't white, skinny, rich, and have generations of family or parents involved in everything, you don't stand a chance finding people. Sorry. People are rude and fake to everyone here, it's such a small school it's impossible to find normal people that you can actually have a bond with because everyone only socializes with people who bring benefit to them. Overall, this school is alright but I would definitely go somewhere else.
Submitted by parent on July 07, 2020

My child's experience at this school was unbelievably negative.
Submitted by parent on May 24, 2020

Horrible. I would avoid this school at all costs.
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2019

My experience with Dobbs Ferry was overall positive. Although it may not be viewed as "prestigious" as other schools in neighboring areas such as Irvington or Hastings, every student I've known has left with a strong foundation that was the result of a Dobbs Ferry education. I would recommend this school for a family that places high value on academics and prioritizes their success.
Submitted by parent on August 09, 2018

Overall, it's been an excellent experience. I think my kids have had a lot of opportunities. It almost makes me feel guilty. Having had one kid get a full IB diploma, although it was tough, I know that she is competitive with the world stage. AP classes alone would not have done that for her.
Submitted by parent on June 21, 2018

I would rate it as disappointing, lonely, and sad. I would not recommend moving to this school district if you have children in middle or high school. The students are cliquish, lack empathy, and the culture is insular.
Submitted by parent on May 11, 2014

The IB Program is excellent and prepares students for advance college-level work. The full IB Diploma program made my child undergo a lot of rigorous accelerated work and programs, but it benefited him to great extent and prepared him for life. The school is doing extremely well and has high national rankings. Thanks DFHS
Submitted by parent on March 23, 2014

The Dobbs Ferry High School provides a wonderful opportunity for students to get ready for prestigious colleges and universities through academic rigor, diverse extracurriculars, a variety of after-school clubs and other programs. Students can benefit through the very high standard of education, which sets them apart from any high school in the country. Being a New York Sate Board school following the IB Curriculum, the school sets the perfect stage for the students, teachers and parents who understand that academic excellence is the key to the child's future successes, on the road to leadership and exceptional performance.
Submitted by student on March 23, 2014

Excellent school with an exceptional IB program, that makes us go through a lot of academic rigor for sure. Although, we are under pressure to constantly and consistently perform well because of the challenging curriculum,it definitely makes us well-prepared for college-level work in adavnce My seniors got admissions in the Ivy Leagues, as well as other prestigious colleges. A very warm and friendly community, and an ever-active school program, Dobbs generates some very talented and exceptional achievers. The Science Research Program has been a great learning experience for me too. I would say, Go Dobbs!
Submitted by parent on January 14, 2014

Dobbs Ferry HS does not focus on the majority of its students. However, as poor as the programming is for students with learning issues the programming for general education students without learning issues is just as poor if not worse. Dobbs ferry HS has designed its programming based on a small percentage of advanced students, about 10% of the student population at the HS. DFHS provides the 10% of advanced students with the the best teachers at the high school and do NOT allow the better teachers to teach the general population of students or children with learning issues. as the majority of students at the HS are NOT IB students enrolled in full schedule IB classes. The general population and special needs population which represent 90% of the schools population are pushed aside to focus on students that can provide the school with headlines and put feathers in the caps of a top heavy grossly OVERPAID administration whose objective is not provide the majority with quality educational programming their goal is to advance their careers and please a minority elitist parent body who provide funding through the school foundation for the top 10% ONLY!