Bethel High School

1067 Big Bethel Road

School District

Hampton City Public Schools
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
Type

public

School Map for Hampton City Public Schools

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 teacher on January 27, 2024

Grade inflation is rampant. Parents bully teachers into passing students.
Submitted by parent on June 01, 2021

I am an alumni & when I was a student there the teachers help alot.
Submitted by parent on June 26, 2018

I hated this school it did nothing but give me depression and made me want to drop out. The staff where highly unencouraging and always told me I wasn't going to be anything or make anything of myself because I was having a child 10th year. But in leaving I finished high and graduated college twice with my son in toll despite they backlash and constant bullying with the students. The staff would bring me down and shame me along with the students as they did with some others. One child took they life because of it and was a friend to my sister. I'm just glad I got out of that school when I did.
Submitted by parent on April 23, 2015

Lack of communication all the way from guidance to teachers. Teachers show lack of interest in students well being and grades. Students aren't given proper tools to succeed. Little to no after/before school for tutoring or help. Emails and phone calls go unanswered for days, sometimes weeks at a time. I pulled my daughter out of this school in her freshman year.
Submitted by parent on April 16, 2015

There is such a lack of communication between parents, teachers and guidance counselors even with the technology we have available. The Guidance counselors don't do what they say they will. For example, my son wasn't turning in homework so the guidance counselor stated that she would have him write his homework down and then verify that he, in fact was turning it in. This didn't happen even once. They don't care and if you email them you'll discover that THEY should be in English class themselves. I'm all for email having a different level of formality but when you can't form a complete sentence and use spell check you're in the wrong field. Professionalism.
Submitted by parent on August 17, 2014

I am glad my son has graduated and he is out of that place!!! Very little communication on when school pictures are being taken. With all the things that go on during senior year I was making several to two two staff member in charge of the senior class for information and they NEVER called me back! Numerous other times overt the years as well. I had to go up to that school on a number of occasions hunting down teachers for information. The Dean of Boys and Girls seem like they get paid by the amount of students they drag in their office. The dean of girls assumed on 2 occasions that my son was doing something that he actually wasn't. I had to go and ask more questions and come to find our she overreacted. I cannot stand that school!!!!!!
Submitted by parent on August 07, 2014

My son is a rising junior and the school has definitely approved since he was a freshman. He has had great teachers both years! Mr. Saunders is a great principal and care very much about the students. As in all high schools there are problems if kids but glad on the improvement the administration has taken.
Submitted by parent on April 17, 2014

My son is a freshman at Bethel. He has come home and told me about several fights in the school. This is typical of high school, but the teachers tend to not get involved. Of course, I'm not sure I blame them. The worst part about the school is the lack of communication from the teachers; not all teacher, but the majority that my son has this year. Several of his teacher lag behind putting grades into the system so that we can monitor his success. Buy the time grades are entered, it's too late to do anything about it. The office staff is not very friendly either. The JROTC instructor (one of them) is also a coach. He has the student repeat after him in ebonics. I have taught my children the correct way to speak since they began talking. I have a problem with this. This is a low class school.
Submitted by parent on February 15, 2013

I am a parent of two Bethel HS alumni and currently a Sophomore. Fortunately, my children were all Talented and Gifted so regardless of the overcrowding and few "bad apples" they excelled. For the most part, Bethel guidance counselors are horrible and should be replaced. I could sit around pointing out the negatives but I don't believe in making excuses because you can control your academic destiny. My two kids graduated with top honors w/ over $100K in Presidential Scholarships...and none were for sports! My other kid is doing quite awesome. Don't judge BHS by the negative reviews. Like most schools in the country, budget constraints are a problem. Bethel HS, in comparison with Kecoughtan, Phoebus, and Hampton which are all HS within the Hampton City School District don't reflect much variation in academic achievements, sports, teacher to student ratio, etc. Hampton School District is rich in cultural diversity opposed to Yorktown and other outlying school districts which reflect predominantly a white student body. The sadness is that most urban students don't realize the "social conditioning" of being taught to think "white is superior and minorities are inferior."