Garfield High School

500 Palisade Avenue

School District

Garfield Public
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
Type

public

School Map for Garfield Public 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 June 17, 2021

Teachers are great. Our children feel safe and comfortable.
Submitted by teacher on March 25, 2021

Tom dent is a huge nonce lol
Submitted by student on August 29, 2020

School is drained of resource due to corupt local politics. There is no ac in the building and towards the end of the school year people would faint from heat exhaustion. We would occasionally be sent home if there student would collapse from heat exhaustion.
Submitted by other on June 27, 2017

The students are lazy which is understandable considering the type of parenting you notice
Submitted by student on May 31, 2016

Garfield High School is a god awful school. It is over populated and the teachers there are horrible. I have not met any teacher that would actually stand in front of the classroom and teach, rather, they read notes from broken smart-boards, notes that you can find online. While students are passing out from heat exhaustion, the main office, is the only place where it is fully air conditioned. It is sad to see that the people that are supposed to teach the leaders of tomorrow can barely set up a well thought out lesson plan and grade things on time. This school is disgusting in many ways, do not send your children here. Let me not get into detail about the so-called "guidance counselors " who do absolutely nothing to help a kid out when needed. They are oblivious to everything. Garfield High School is horrible. Run away, fast.
Submitted by parent on October 26, 2015

This HS is horrible!! Do not send your child here. They don't care about their students only their pay check. Administration is unprofessional and conceding towards concern parents. They don't do anything to keep their students off the streets. They actually throw them in the streets. Students text on their phones and the teachers allow it. They don't care!! There is too much politics in Garfield to try to make a difference. I tried and got no where. They protect each other. Its a shame for us parents who can not afford to move or send our child someplace else where education and students come first.
Submitted by student on July 16, 2015

GHS isn't a good school. I haven't been here a full year, and since I came, at least 6 people in my grade dropped out. Most teachers don't "teach", it's true most of our work is vocabulary or notes. Most students talk/text through classes. The school is worried about uniforms & cellphones more than education. The teachers never take phones away, but if they do, your parents will have to pick it up. If you get it taken away again, your phone is gone until June! The only good thing is that most students are nice, but there's some "fake" people. It's definitely the worst HS in Bergen County.
Submitted by other on April 28, 2014

I used to be a student at this school and my child goes here now, I must say how corrupt and biased these teachers are at this school. The teachers are lazy and most of the time just sit on their computers and when they do not feel like teaching assign work like vocabulary to keep the kids busy. When time comes for state evaluations they try to show how well they teach but once the people from the state leave they are back to being their corrupt selves and stealing tax payer money. The most disgusting thing I found at this school is how biased these teachers are and pick on favorites. My child wrote an essay to get into a college credit course and the essay was praised by top level English teachers. But the biased teacher only took people she knew and who were favorites and who knows if she even read it. A school that praises a teacher's pet instead of following unbiased views shows how corrupt and biased thing are here. Most of the teachers here are unqualified to teach but the administration is so corrupt that they evaluate these teachers with 100% each and every year. Students have no voice since the administration is so corrupt. There are a few awesome teachers but most are bad
Submitted by student on December 17, 2013

This is my second year at Garfield High School. From my experience going to this school, all i can say that this is one of the worst high school anyone would attend. The building is extremely old and dusty, and the school is very cheap. The school would spend money on useless TVs in the hallways, but they can't use the money to improve the education of the students. I am a high achiever and all of my classes are honors, but the classes they offer you is ridiculously easy. The staff at this school is horrible, expect for a couple good teachers. Many of the staffs should not be teaching! Some of them cant even speak proper English! The school even messed up my schedule, giving me useless classes that i dont even need. We dont do anything fun in our school, and if the school decides to do something, it is usually toward the seniors. This school is literally trash. Oh BTW, our school have stricter policy toward uniforms and cell phone usage than education. If you ever have your phone taken away, the chances are that you are going to get it back in June, the last day of school. Sounds very reasonable right?
Submitted by parent on December 06, 2013

GHS is just a building. The students represent the building making it an institution for academic achievement. Therefore, students should thrive to master their areas of study to make GHS one of the most rated schools in Bergen county. I , love this school.
Submitted by student on November 16, 2013

This school is one of the worst schools you can every honestly go to. I went here, and the things that i have expierenced here, i don't wish anyone to expierence. I had to move out of the city because here the teachers were terrible. I still to this day, think how did those teachers even become teachers because honestly they shouldn't even work with kids if they have no idea how to. I felt like i was a prisoner trapped in a jail cell and that's how people feel there. I made the best choice ever to just move, oh and they can't even prepare you for collage at all, despite the fact that they don't even grade you fairly. DON'T EVER GO TO GARFIELD HIGH SCHOOL!
Submitted by student on June 18, 2013

My school sucks. I want an advanced education. I do nothing in class. Worst algebra teachers and especially English. I want to get better in my writing such as essays and college papers. But all we do in class is nothing. This school is a joke. i know in the future my kids aren't coming here at all. The technology sucks if we have the right technology this school rating would be outstanding. But this school is to cheap. Such as sports. What happened to having lacrosse. I want to have a sport on my college letter but no interesting sports that can make this school look better. And how would you expect a student to work and do test in class in this heat. I have allergies with dust. And especially they cut grass outside during school time. I gues they cant afford over time fo the janitors. Wow they installed AC in the lunch room. But why isnt it on.The school cant even afford a ski trip to killington, IM DONE! And plus why wont these teachers reach out to these students and help them for once instead of yelling at them for not knowing what something means. I find that a great way to learn PSHH. Teachers, the staff, and the rules makes you feel your in A jail cell.
Submitted by student on May 05, 2013

I just started attenting this school and I have noticed I do not enjoy attentong this school eveeyday more and more. It makes me feel depressed and worried about my education. The students and the the teachers are unpleasant. Some teachers have a lack of education .
Submitted by other on October 15, 2012

I don't know what you guys are talking about, I loved GHS! Mr.Mucha is a great disciplinarian. Yes Mrs. D'amico is doing great with her new job as our principal. The only person that made GHS really horrific was Principal McGinley. I loved the entire staff and my teachers were all amazing. They all were so personal and had soft spots for me. I don't think you guys have ever tried engaging with the faculty if you are saying they aren't doing their jobs correctly. My main thing in GHS was sports. GOO BOILERMAKERS! WOOT WOOT! All I know is that I graduated as Class of 2012, and I loved it. Graduating was the happiest day of my life and the worst day of my life, because I left such an amazing school. I want to see all of you go to another school and see where you end up. I am in a fantastic college at the moment, i've been warming up to it, but I know I will probably never love it here as much as much as I loved high school. I just recently visited about 2 weeks ago for the first time in 5 months, and I was welcomed back with arms wide open. I understand that everyone has their own opinion, and I so do I, which is why I say GO GHS! I love this place baby! Written by -Melanie, GHS 12'!
Submitted by student on June 18, 2012

Finishing my second year right now, and I have to say that this school definitely deserves it's current rating. None of the staff is really involved with the education of students, and quite honestly, nobody is motivated to learn. We weren't actually 'taught' anything, as teachers went over material with superficial methods. I'm glad, however, to see the new principal addressing some common issues within this school, and hopefully make new students' experiences more worthwhile, as my experience attending this school has been absolutely dreadful, and a waste of time. Some points for improvement would probably focus most on disciplinary action. Far too many times i've seen students bully/vandalise/fight etc., and get away with it. They are FAR too lenient when it comes to punishing students for these acts. It's truly impossible for someone who actually does want to learn to do so, because of the excessive disruptions in class you have to put up with. GHS can be a better school, but it needs improvement.
Submitted by student on December 04, 2011

I used to be a student here a few years ago, and I've got to say that this was the worst school I've been to. Not only were the uniforms and the ID cards annoying, but a lot of the teachers were lazy (not all but a lot) and nobody was in the mood to learn. After a year I left the school and moved, but even in my new high school, I found myself too lazy to do much work because I was so used to basically doing nothing in GHS. The only thing I truly missed were some of the friends I made there and the sports. To improve the quality of this school, we need more diligent teachers that are willing to toughen up their curriculum to get the students ready for college (if they are going) and disciplinary action.