Granite Bay High School

1 Grizzly Way

School District

Roseville Joint Union High
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:22
Type

public

School Map for Roseville Joint Union High 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 October 24, 2023

Every school has its pros and cons. The academics, athletics, extracurriculars, school spirit, and administrative support are very good. The school board is also excellent. It can be a very 'clicky' social environment and my child did struggle socially. My son says that compared to his last school, the typical kid here struggles emotionally because of divorced parents resulting in regular drug use (mostly pot). The school's mental health team is excellent. Covid/remote work was really rough on my kid, but he got through it and is doing well at GBHS.
Submitted by parent on October 04, 2023

We have 2 kids who graduated from GBHS and 1 still there. We are very pleased with the education they are receiving . From speech & debate to tennis and football. Our kids are involved in the school. You will get what you put in. There are some teachers who are not great but that is life. The school prepared them well for college. It is a wonderful school with an amazing community.
Submitted by parent on March 10, 2023

Granite Bay HS is a great school. It has become more racially, ethnically, and socio-economically diverse. It has outstanding academics and extracurricular activities. The courses offered are rigorous and varied; check out the course catalog online to see what I mean! There is built in academic support for students during the school day. The 4x4 block schedule allows the students the ability to pursue a variety of academic paths. There are excellent sports, arts, and CTE programs as well. The GB staff are dedicated and work hard to provide opportunities and engagement for the students. Those students come from a wide variety of backgrounds. As a parent of biracial children, GBHS has been a great place for them.
Submitted by parent on February 09, 2023

Don't let the equity scores fool you. This school has a long history of racial harassment since it's earlier days in the 90s. Something that's likely not to be addressed due to push back from student parents. Black students and families should steer clear.
Submitted by parent on February 04, 2023

I am so grateful for the excellent quality of education my children receive here! The students work on a 4-year plan with counselor support and revisit it each year. The school offers so many options, including AP, IB courses and some dual enrollment. The Career and Technical education pathways are awesome and have exposed my children to business and STEM pathways. Student athletes thrive in a supportive environment and all of the coaches have been trusted positive role models for my teens. I love that they have tutoring at Grizz time for students to be able to get help from teachers during the school day. Also, the campus is welcoming and more ethnically and socioeconomically diverse than I thought it would be. That was a pleasant surprise! I could not ask for a better, more well rounded high school experience for my children!
Submitted by parent on March 14, 2022

My daughter currently attends granite bay high school and she absolutely loves it. The teachers are friendly and welcoming to new students. If your student is struggling and asks for help the teachers are very accomodating to make sure they get the help they need. The school offers after-school tutoring for free in the library as well as help at grizz time from teachers. Academics at this school are great but so is the culture and the sports teams. My daughter has played two different sports this year and the coaches have been truly dedicated to their sport and very encouraging. They also do not put up with bullying at school or in sports. We love granite bay high school.
Submitted by parent on May 18, 2021

This school completely prepared my daughter for a UC. She took several AP courses and compares those courses to what she is studying currently at UC Santa Cruz. In her first quarter, she made the Dean's List and is finishing her Freshman year with straight A's. If you are looking for academically focused students, this is the place for your teen. They also have great sports teams for your teen to join.
Submitted by parent on May 30, 2019

If you have a student with a learning disability or has any challenges academically this is NOT the school to attend. Most staff and administration have little to no understanding, support or compassion for these students. Most only teach to and acknowledge those high achieving students and are bothered to accommodate students with special circumstances. The staff and administration do not follow or support the accommodations of their learning disabled students.These students are being discriminated against based on their disability and rights to use accommodations within the general education classroom. These accommodations are seen as an unfair advantage given to learning disabled students over the other students at GBHS. If your child attends this school and has accommodations as a parent be prepared to question, fight and advocate for your student and their rights. A large number of students that are struggling end up in course and credit recovery. Families have to pay tutors just to help them keep up. The pace and demand of the academics along with pressure to do well has caused a very big cheating problem. Even if your student is not cheating, they will be treated and viewed as a cheater. Some teachers do get it, but the administration and especially the math department's attitude towards these students is unacceptable and not changing. The special ed department's knowledge, process and support materials are completely outdated. There is very little elective options offered at this school outside of AP, IB, advanced and honors classes. In the 2017-2018 school year, the school added a 28 minute “priority period” to their schedule to offer additional help and support for their students. This is something other schools have been doing for years. Maybe they are finally seeing that a large majority of their students are struggling and need additional help. Overall, staff and administration’s attitude towards their learning disabled and academically challenged students need to change. This school needs to understand that not all their students are on a path to transfer to a 4 year university. They need to see this and support those students and their goals. Hopefully sooner than later they will see that the true success of a school is about including and supporting ALL students with all levels of learning and with different educational paths.
Submitted by parent on August 21, 2018

I find Granite Bay HS staff and teachers down right disappointing. They have a sink or swim mentality, they are a disservice to the children and to the parents who put their trust in public education.
Submitted by parent on February 11, 2017

Although this school has a very dedicated teachers who deserve real respect, still some other teachers and staff are suffering from Racism behaviour towards the students from different religion and race , a bad feature that is not getting serious attention from the administration .. In addition, most of teachers are lazy and depends on their tutors , rather than spending some efforts with the kids, especially the math dept. .. Some teachers are using their authority for setting personal accounts with the students
Submitted by parent on February 06, 2017

Great education prep for college and life.
Submitted by parent on May 11, 2016

Only about half of the teachers are any good; the other half are useless and uncaring. The real reason this school scores so well is parental involvement, and many families are rich enough to hire tutors for their kids. Those tutors are the reason for those high scores, not the teachers! If you're not rich, good luck getting help!
Submitted by student on May 01, 2016

This school is competitive in terms of academics. Only a couple of the staff members seem to care; the rest are just in it to make the school look good with "good" ratings.
Submitted by other on February 25, 2016

I recently graduated from Granite Bay High School last year in May 2015. The teachers and counselors truly care about your success in your classes. If you are struggling with a class, a teacher will individually acknowledge it and speak about ways you can be successful. If you are struggling in a specific class the teachers will go above and beyond to help you as long you show motivation. Some of the kids can be very cliquey and not very friendly, but that is just like any other high school. The students may party or drink but they are also are taking AP courses and are getting good grades.
Submitted by other on July 28, 2015

Challenging school with teachers who really push their students. Set me up to be successful in college.
Submitted by student on March 07, 2015

Previously a choir teacher, now a principal, Jennifer Leighton has set up all kinds of new rules since July 2014 to punish students. The learning environment is miserable now.
Submitted by parent on December 02, 2014

It's a great school IF your child is a great student, but if your child has difficulty or struggles academically then this is not the school for them. There is zero compassion for students that need extra academic help or that have any special circumstances. In the last 4 years I have only encountered 2 educators at this school that actually seemed sincere and displayed any type of compassion. They would rather bus out your child to other schools so they don't bring down the API score. It really is sad.
Submitted by student on June 27, 2014

I think overall this school is pretty good, besides the drug problem, which is out of control. The school makes you very motivated and gives you a ton of work, depending how smart you are in completing the work. There is also some peer pressure, drama and some of the kids can be mean. I like how the school motivates you to do your best and even though the teachers give out a lot of work, it is good because it makes you more intelligent and independent. The school can improve if teachers would explain the work more in depth to the students and give students more time to do their work. Also, the teachers should recognize students that are peer pressured and/or on drugs and report it to the principal to do something about the problem and fix it. Overall, I made good friends here and enjoyed my time being here.
Submitted by other on June 13, 2014

Okay I go to granite bay and I want to clear up some of the "issues" that parents have. Fpr starters, yes there are drugs but that like every other highschool in the nation. During my three years here I have never once been pressured into doing any kind at all. The only time there is a drug problem is when your kid starts doing drugs, but that doesn't reflect the school, just bad parenting. Another issue is that kids here are rude. This is true as well, but its only a small majority of students who give a bad reputation and its up to your child to make good decisions on the friends that he or she makes. Most people here are quite nice and there is a place for anyone. People say horrible things about granite bay and that they want their child to have a better experience; a great experience can be found here if you raised your kid the correct way. So dont blame the school, there are so many great things and people here. Just hope that you raised your child well. Oh, and we all known that our academics are superb.
Submitted by parent on May 29, 2014

Typical of many schools in affluent areas, this school is a "mixed bag". It is very academically competitive, which is great for kids who can keep up, but little help is given to those who can't. The ethos seems to be that going to college is the only path and anything else is substandard. Navigating the school's social scene can be down-right treacherous. There is a clear divide between the "haves" and "have nots" (just look at the cars in the student parking lot). Bullying based on socio-economic factors has been an issue for us. Drugs can be a problem too when wealthy kids have too much time and money on their hands. We have opted for our second child to attend Del Oro instead and are having a much better experience. The students and parents are more down to earth, and the environment does force the kids to grow up so fast.