Highland High School

4301 East Guadalupe Road

School District

Gilbert Unified District
Grade

8-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:22
Type

public

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 December 03, 2024

So the curriculum at this school is a hot mess ! Especially the science classes . Students that take regular standard science classes not honors not AP get similar curriculum . All the students are failing . Test are being failed . Students give up because they know they wont pass the test .Assignments are every where nothing aligns . Students survive in test retakes . So many students are struggling . I don’t see how the administration can’t see its right in their face they aren’t learning it’s to intense . Curriculum is way over the top . That’s why these students are not taking honors or AP courses . Not sure what GPS is trying to achieve . If I was starting my student in high school . I would look at other districts . Families I know that attend chandler school district are shocked when they see GPS - Highland HS assignments and mass emails for students failing !! Believe this is why many are attending to charters schools . Sports is also in the decline at Highland . More kids won’t be able to participate due to college or above curriculum. Run from this school . The Math department also struggles no one teaches . Don’t worry GPS just wants more students to take online classes to retake classes they failed. It is more money for them . Then they have Canyon HS to send your child to. So many parents at other districts do not receive mass emails for so many students ta failing to go to another school during fall break to bring grades up . Why not look at why all these students are failing !! How can you have over 5 plus student a all failing. Enter classes failing or class average on test barely a c or lower !! Don’t be blind sided by GPS and it’s Highland HS . It basically online teach your self . Assuming Highland HS graduation rate is actually lower than what they show . They send the students to Canyon HS .
Submitted by parent on February 29, 2024

Highland hs is very crowded. The school halls are unsafe to walk through . Students have to push into each other due to the overcrowded halls . The streets can’t handle all the cars . The parking situation for students is getting worse . The administrator all seem to hate their jobs . The school just keeps going down hill .
Submitted by parent on September 08, 2022

I recently went to lunch with a large group of women who had children at highland. We all had the same concerns. I thought it was my kids. First, everyone there had multiple kids failing a math or science. Highland has had a teacher quit in math or science every year mid semester on my kid. No matter how well my kid is doing they have ending up failing. The mothers all agreed and they all had at least one class of summer school over the summer. I was shocked. Half of me wonders with how much summer school has to do if it is a money grab. Summer school is online, and $600. Interesting that everyone there had a kid who failed multiple times. Also they do a thing called “sweep”. If you are late in the morning you have automatic detention. They think this will encourage kids to get there on time. They have been doing this for two years now. Everyone I talk to said their kid has morning detention because of this and they’re missing their first hour. What Highland fails to understand the actually the reason why everyone is late is they are taking tons of boundary exceptions the school is too big and no matter what time you leaving the house in the morning you cannot get even within the vicinity of the school halfway on time. The earlier I leave my house the later I am in most cases. Everyone at the lunch was saying the same thing. The culture there is really starting to get worse and worse every year. I talk to my friends at Gilbert high and Williamsfield high and they are not experiencing the same types of things. This school has simply gotten too big and I feel as if it is now being ran as a money maker and not a school.
Submitted by parent on March 06, 2017

This is a school that offers something for everyone. I have 3 kids that are either presently attending or have graduated. All three received an excellent education and found their place. The soccer teams, the physics department (the science department in general) and the FFA department are all places that my kids found to shine. I know the music department is probably the best in the nation. You can't get a better high school.
Submitted by parent on March 02, 2017

I've had kids attend Highland since 2004. All three are very different but have had great high school experiences-academically and socially. As with most things in life, your experience is all about what you do with the opportunities given to you. Highland offers something for everyone.
Submitted by other on February 05, 2017

All my kids attended here and besides changes in administration which was needed, it was overall a very good school. First of all the performing arts and extracurricular activities are very strong at Highland. The choir made my daughter's interest in vocal performance bloom. Rita Schultz is a truly amazing educator. Sports-wise, 2 of my sons played 5A Football under decent coaches. Besides one daughter having little interest in extracurriculars both my husband and I were very impressed in almost every aspect. Second, YES there are many Mormon kids at this school. This review is brought to you by a lifelong (and very proud member) of another faith. My kids were friends with many of them. Some were rude and cliquish, some were my kids best friends. There were other cliques that didn't have Mormons in them yet those aren't discussed.Is there favoritism among teachers and coaches? My kids (except my oldest) were straight "A" students. All of them (besides my oldest) didn't claim any favoritism. My oldest did very vocally. We were concerned initially, and even considered moving him at one point to a charter, but it was 2 of his very Mormon friends who he didn't want to leave. His grades improved his Senior year and then his opinion seemed to go softer.Among my neighbors and friends there are TONS of Mormons. They seem to expect from their kids what my husband and I expect from ours. A) Hard Work. B) Faith. C) Avoiding Pot, Booze and Pregnancy during High School.If those three factors create favoritism among tracers and faculty then group my family into the clique!I attended a very prominent Catholic school back east (No not a Catholic either) and felt ostracized by my Catholic peers until I realized that we shared a lot in common in terms of values. I too ranted about the unfairness of not being in the religious majority by telling all who would listen about my "outsiderness." I grew to love those around me who weren't exactly like me in faith. I got an amazing education there just like my kids received at Highland. I'm ok with my kids being outnumbered by Mormons like I was outnumbered by Catholics. They know who they are. Highland is a great school both because of the Mormons and the non-Mormons alike. All schools have cliques and bully's. I don't blanket the problem here to Mormon kids.
Submitted by parent on January 20, 2015

I have two graduates and two currently enrolled (and two future Hawks). There has been a lot of drama in the Gilbert School District, but Highland faculty and staff have been able to insulate the students and maintain their focus on the students and continuing the excellence on campus. Highland not only excels in academics but also in extra curricular activities such as sports, arts and a club and booster network that allows every student the opportunity to participate. The rating of five stars was not taken lightly and the new Principal is taking Highland to a new level of performance.
Submitted by other on June 22, 2014

This is a great school! The academics are fantastic and there are so many opportunities. Because the school is fairly large you can pick from a big and diverse elective pool. As to the "Mormon bias" I don't see it as often as the comments say. Most of the time kids use the Mormon bias as an excuse to there parents when they mess up. Even if you're not Mormon (like me), there are many benefits from being in a religiously influenced school, it reduces the rate of crime, drug use and fights! Highland is a great school! Because of HHS I will be attending Harvard in the Fall of 2014!
Submitted by parent on February 13, 2014

This is a very good school academically and the music program is wonderful, however, there is a lot of Mormon favoritism in regard to sports and other activities. My child has had to experience first hand this religious bias. Even when it comes to dating or going out with a large group of kids my clean cut, church going, high achieving son has been discriminated against. I suppose if a student IS Mormon they would not notice the LDS preference but if you're not it is sadly obvious. He has asked to go elsewhere next year.
Submitted by parent on January 26, 2014

Our daughter is a sophomore at Highland and we are extremely pleased with how happy she is there. The fact that we have no particular religious affiliation has never been an issue. My daughter participates in some of the many sports and clubs Highland has to offer. We highly recommend this school! Also to note, our son attends Highland Junior...another school in our district with which we are just as pleased.
Submitted by student on January 05, 2014

I am currently a student here at highland high school and my freshman year here was incredible! I loved all the amazing clubs and teams I was able to join a totally different experience than junior high! BUT when I started my sophmore year this past August, everything changed. I find highland very religious. If you are not LDS (Mormon) you are an outcast in most cases. I have had my teachers even ask who is mormon in the class! Although, there are many people of different faiths who will eventually "clique" with, I found myself confused on why I was feeling so left out. The curriculum also changed quite a bit! And more than half of the math teachers have strong accents and speak very poor english which makes it very difficult to understand. We no longer have half days but instead get released at 1:30 every Wednesday which is difficult for those of us involved in sports because we have to get transportation back to the school at 3 for practice. Overall, I find highland very "cliquey" and judgmental.
Submitted by parent on December 11, 2013

We are new in the area. Our children attend both the Highland Junior high, and the high school. My junior high son is involved in sports and band, and has established a number of friends! My daughter is doing very well at the high school. No we are not Mormons but I sure don't mind them! They are great neighbors! The AP history teacher has some strange teaching methods. We do have some amazing teachers, and a few who should be observed without advanced noticed. Overall, we are very happy to be here! We came from out of state from an extremely competitive school and the Highland schools are right up there! We do recommend our school here in Gilbert!
Submitted by other on December 01, 2013

Any Irish people in this school? I might be going to this school shortly and I was just wandering are there any Irish students there
Submitted by parent on May 17, 2013

I have not had the best interactions with the counseling department or a few of the teachers. There is a mormon bias at this school. Those who say there isn't are mormons. My daughter and I were at orientation right b4 school started,my daughter received a lunch hour that none of her friends had. She was upset I toldher that it was ok. The counselor had just told us that he could not change it because it was too late. I understood. As we were walking out another new student walked up to the same counselor & said I need to change my lunch because my friends from our ward are in a different lunch then me and I want to be with my friends. They started chatting about mutual friends in the ward that they attended together. He said to her hold on, I will be back. He changed this girls lunch. I heard the whole thing, it was to be with her friends. They went to the same ward. After the girl left, I asked the counselor how that just happened and did my daughter need to be mormon to change her lunch? I called him out. Handed him my daughters schedule and said my daughter wanted the other lunch. Without a word he changed my daughters schedule. He knew he was just biased to the mormon kid.
Submitted by student on March 03, 2013

I am currently a freshman at highland high school and I would not recommend this school to anyone who is looking for a challenging education. The teachers at this school will only teach your child the bare minimum and only what will be on the AIMS test. The teachers only care about what's best for your child because the teacher who gets the highest test scores will get extra money. Also, when a student isn't comprehending the topic being taught, the teacher will drop all their plans and stretch the topic until that one student gets it. This can be good or bad depending on if your child is a slow learner, in which case, this is the school for you. Another problem this school has is that students have ADHD and the teachers make no effort to help them. Also, the school takes way too many boundary exceptions. Class sizes have risen from 24 people to a class to more than thirty. If your child has a hard time focusing in class, do not send them here. Lastly, school food quality has decreased dramatically. The school orders the food from different places, freeze them, then reheat when the food is needed. Sometimes the food is not fully defrosted and is cold on the inside.
Submitted by parent on February 24, 2013

i disagree with the high rate that this school have, this school get the easy way comparing with others schools. they don't enroll students with low grades or students with special education needs. from here you can't compare this school against the others. i tryed to enroll my daughter on this school but they don't admitted her because she has low grades and they told me that we need to go to another school. we went to gilbert high school and they make a very good plan for my daughter and she graduate on time from this school. i'm very grateful for the hard work gilbert high school did with my daughter. since i know how highland enroll the students. i say they never deserve to compare them with another real high schools. highland has a fake high rate. they do nothing. they only admit students with high grades; therefore those students with highland or without highland will graduate for their self.
Submitted by student on December 01, 2012

I am alumni at this school and I say it was average at most. There was a bullying problem and most of the faculty were ignorant of it. I read reviews about Mormon bias, and sadly it was true. A few of my teachers made me very uncomfortable for not fitting in with the majority of my peers who are Mormon. LGBTQs and other minorities weren't consider apart of the school community by students. I also felt my mild disabilities weren't taken as serious and were seen as a joke. They didn't take any news about suicidal students seriously as well. One student mentioned that they were students trying to convert, that happened to me as well. If I could go back in time, I would have begged to go to Gilbert High School instead just for diversity alone. High school is not just for academics, it is to learn about others and how you contribute to the whole. Highland just taught me that I was a terrible person for being different in some minor detail and it took me a long time to feel like I am a good person.