South Eugene High School

400 East 19th Avenue

School District

Eugene 4j
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:24
Type

public

School Map for Eugene School District 4j

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 February 27, 2024

While initially excited about South's IHS program due to my own personal interest in challenging learning and work, this program has proved to be nothing more than a waste of time. They stack piles of meaningless drivel purely to keep students busy. The only point of the program is to create "overachievers", which while that can be a good mindset in some situations, they push it too far. The amount of students who drop out of IHS every year is astounding to say the least. And that is just the IHS program. I have been here three years, and yet I have learned absolutely nothing. The classes are a waste of time. The school acts like it is meant to inspire growth and creativity, yet will have you reading the same kind of books every year, or teaching the same concepts about fractions and decimals. They preach about supporting students' mental health, yet if you are gone for even one day, whether it be for sickness or a family emergency, your grades will drop significantly. Questions are seemingly encouraged, yet when you ask, either the student body judges you, or the teachers ridicule you and tell you to pay better attention. I may not have an IEP or 504, but many of my friends have them. While there are a few teachers who happily respect them, many do not, and will oft harass you for even having them, saying they are pointless. This school is somehow number two in Oregon, yet when in 2023, my second year, there was not one, but three bomb threats, and one shooting threat. While that is not the school's fault, how they handled it is. Their bright idea to make the students feel safe was to not only keep them uniformed for most of it, but to send the students en masse outside which easily could've put them in greater danger. Even worse, they forced students to stay for hours in the heat without water, food, or bathroom access. They were not allowed to leave the premises until many hours later, and could not grab their things they had to leave in the building, which included things like live saving medication and phones. The food is also a safety concern. Not only has mold been found on it numerous times, but many people have gotten food poisoning. On top of that, vegetarian students are at a major disadvantage. The lines are so long, that unless you leave class early to get in line, you will likely not get lunch that day, and not everyone has the financial stability to pack a lunch. The "education" here is pointless, and it is not a healthy space for students.
Submitted by student on January 04, 2024

As a student, its not great. The schedule is not good, food’s worse. They say they want what's best for your mental health but all they do is say there's counselors available. I do have an IEP which is typically respected. but some teachers are fussy. Also ihs is easy enough it's just work on work on work. plus you have to do 100 hours of unpaid service work for your mandatory CAS hours. They are especially fussy with your IEP.
Submitted by parent on November 09, 2022

Graduated from South with a pre-acceptance into a doctoral program after college. To say SEHS helped prepare me for college and post-grad would be an understatement. They excel in many areas. Lots of AP courses are offered, and I was able to easily enter college as a 'sophomore' in credits which really helped when registering for classes. The teachers here are all wonderful and intelligent, fostering unique and memorable learning environments. I only had 1 or 2 teachers that I didn't love, but that's just due to statistics over the course of 4 years. The school did not feel cliquey at all; we really were like one giant family. Lots of groups, clubs, and niches for everyone. I'd recommend SEHS tenfold.
Submitted by parent on November 04, 2021

My kids are SO BORED at South Eugene HS. The teachers do very little except talk, not even noticing that most of the kids have tuned them out. As a result, anything that my kids learn is done on their own, or with my help (or tutoring, since the math department is particularly bad). It is even worse these days because classes are now 90 minutes instead of 50, and my kids find that sitting and listening to a boring person talk at you for 90 minutes is utterly maddening. Most teachers at this school seem to have no sense of best practices, active learning, or student-centered instruction, and are just mailing it in. Their approach is: students should be seen but not heard; all learning comes out of the teacher's mouth and into the students' brains; and questions are discouraged. Leadership is uninterested in this problem, and in fact won't respond to emails (actually, I'm just assuming that the school has a principal, since my kids have never seen him/her and in fact don't know whether it is a man or a woman). The school has a good reputation but it is ENTIRELY due to the students' families and not the faculty. Don't waste your money trying to buy a house so you can send your kids to this school; the quality of the education is no different than anywhere else.
Submitted by student on July 27, 2014

I've only been there one year, but I have three more coming up. I highly recommend South.We may not have a huge number of electives to choose from, but the classes that are taught are taught very well, especially English 9 Honors. I can't use names in this review, but trust me, if you see the Honors English teacher there, you'll know it's him. He's awesome. Not to detract from the abilities of the other teachers, who are also good, for the most part. We also have great extra-curricular activities, including a world-class petanque team (I have no idea what petanque is) and a history of a national level ultimate team. That's ultimate frisbee, which is a real sport, for those of you who've never heard of it. If you do go there, I recommend Classic South, as opposed to IHS, which can be a lot of busy work and stress. That said, by the end of the year, I did get a bit burnt out by the stress despite being in Classic. That's why I only gave this awesome school four stars out of five. The homework can be a bit much, especially if you take a lot of advanced classes like I do. And by the way, I agree with the last post. South is not a cliquey school at all. The environment is wonderful.
Submitted by student on May 24, 2011

Someone said something about how "cliquey" this school was. This person has never gone to another school before. I was extremely miserable and unaccepted at my old school, which was incredibly cliquey. When I moved to South, I had never been happy. Whether you're interest is in math or Japan or pie, you'll find friends here. On top of that, the education system is fantastic. I'v heard great things about the IB curriculum, and as an AP student, I can say I loved my classes. The school was active in the community and did a ton of the things to keep the students involved, even if many chose not to do so. I'm very sad I only got to spend one year here. Honestly, I had never been happier than when I went to this school. The one downside to it is the fact the area is expensive, but I think it is worth it for the experiences and education you'll receive from South.