Aragon High School

900 Alameda de las Pulgas

School District

San Mateo Union High
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:22
Type

public

School Map for San Mateo 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 other on March 28, 2024

To be very honest, this was probably the worst experience in my life. I’m a current college student looking back on my high school experience making this realization. The staff are very unsupportive, particularly the academic counselors. They see the students as numbers and can be a little racially biased. My counselor in particular constantly mixed me up with other students and overlooked my achievements simply because I was Asian. The teachers are very harsh and don’t provide enough support to each individual student. The students can be very comparative and toxic with one another, with constant rumors going around. It was common for people to run out of their classrooms crying while going on a bathroom break. The peer pressure for academics was too much and there were nearly zero mental health resources. Overall, my experience was a 2/5. If I were to repeat my high school experience I would choose San mateo high school. Aragon is a breeding ground for poor mental health.
Submitted by parent on June 11, 2022

Best high school in San Mateo. Great teachers. They send kids to Harvard, Stanford and many to UC top colleges. This is why the Aragon/Baywood area is so desirable. Walking distance to elementary, middle and high schools!
Submitted by parent on February 18, 2022

This is the only school in the district that does not create a 4 year plan with the counselor and student. To make things worse, they have a lot of unwritten policies (like no 2 science and math courses in a year). As counselors do not meet with students 1:1 for course planning and creating the 4 year plan, students and parents plan this without knowing all the unwritten rules.By the time you get to 11th and 12th grades, you realize that the student is not able to take the courses they want.You will also see other students who seem to not have been affected by these unwritten rules - which is the problem with unwritten rules - how do you ensure that it is applied fairly?Reaching out to counselors and school administration, including the Principal is extremely difficult. They do not respond to emails or calls.The teachers have been great. However, the school administration and counseling department are incompetent and non responsive.
Submitted by parent on June 02, 2020

It's a fantastic school and why we moved to San Mateo. Our kid graduated and went to a top-10 college. Can't say enough good but you have to instill some self-motivation as the AP homework can be tough!
Submitted by parent on June 16, 2019

It is very sad that the school does not protect the students.
Submitted by student on May 27, 2019

It’s a typical suburban high school that doesn’t tolerate outrè personalities or people who think differently. Counselors focus on kids who already have private counselors, giving the rest of us middle class kid short shrift (even though we need the guidance. Literally). Bullying is not dealt with well. Middle of the road students with mediocre personalities and AP kids seem to thrive. Anyone outside of this template should find a better fit.
Submitted by parent on March 26, 2019

Awful!!! I have 3 children in 3 different schools and Aragon has been the only one I would recommend.
Submitted by parent on January 24, 2018

I am a parent whose kids went to Aragon and tremendously admire the school's programs and faculty. Every area was well balanced with lot of opportunities of growth and development. So happy that my kids had great achievements and succeeded well in this school. Thanks to their wonderful teachers who gave the needed coaching and guidance. They too feel very happy and proud to be alumni of Aragon High School.
Submitted by parent on January 13, 2017

Moved to this district specifically to put my daughter in this school as I felt it was the best of the area SM District high schools. There are a lot of opportunities for kids here but they have to be somewhat progressive about seeking things out. There are all kinds of clubs and organizations for any sort of interest. My daughter is in her sophomore year and has been very happy with her teachers and looking over he work, I see it as challenging but appropriate.The school is becoming a bit "nerdy" but that's not a bad thing and the peer pressure is significantly less than a school like Burlingame High School where you-are-what-you-wear is a daily pressure.The school is comprised mostly of children of parents that live in the nicer parts of San Mateo and Hillsborough which means there is a lot of support from home for academics and going to college is pretty much a given. The kids that are on board with that will do well at Aragon but I could see that children that have some academic challenges might struggle.Overall, we could afford to send our daughter to any school, public or private and she is a strong student. After looking at all the available options we picked Aragon and have no regrets.
Submitted by other on July 05, 2015

Great faculty and teachers as well as student body. Strong focus on academics (Aragon being one of the best in the district) as well as a large variety of extracurriculars offered (great sports, clubs, music and drama departments). The biggest thing is that the administration at Aragon is terrible and ineffective. The dean, Valmonte, exhibits clear favoritism amongst students and has a disdain towards most students that are not football and baseball stars. Both the principal and assistant principal (Mahood) dismiss issues when they arise. Had problems with Valmonte and Mahood's poor attitudes throughout the year. The only member of administration that seemed to care was Coe, however he retired this past year. Therefore, if you have a problem at school (harassment/bullying, stolen property, etc) you're better off just bottling it up inside since administration did nothing for me and I seriously doubt will do much for you.
Submitted by teacher on May 13, 2015

I have been working PRN for the past few weeks and have 35 years experience in public schools. I would rate AHS in the top 5% in the areas of academics, safety,and learning environment. I would gladelt send my children or grandchildren to school. Here I would rank it above the school they attended in Marin.
Submitted by parent on October 21, 2014

Not very impressed with the teachers at Aragon. Several teachers don't update school loop in a timely manner (only once a month at that) and misplace assignments all the time. Granted, my child is only a freshman so I can' speak for the upper grade teachers. I expected more from the teachers, especially every grade matters in HS. Speaking to the assistant principal hasn't delivered better results. Also, it s been very difficult to get an appointment with the teacher. The parent community is great though.
Submitted by student on July 31, 2014

Terrible. No spirit, no pride, no arts. You'd be better off going to a place where the teachers care more about just test scores.
Submitted by other on April 29, 2014

Aragon high school was the school I graduated a year ago from. Honestly I can say that every teacher I had was absolutely amazing. I learned so much and I really got a lot out of this high school. I recommend AP English because all high schools do not prepair kids for college essays unless they take AP English. This high school had very caring staff and really wanted the best for it's students. I loved this school and it's a great opurtunity for any kid to grow into a amazing adult.
Submitted by parent on November 07, 2013

Aragon can be very good if you look at it in an academic way, yet I feel as if the students at Aragon are not being prepared for college. Many of the teachers at Aragon are wonderful and kind though my children have also received some very negative and demeaning teachers who at every opportunity single out children for their disabilities and not their strengths. Most courses at Aragon are either extremely difficult or much too easy for the students. There is no happy medium when it comes to classes. My daughter constantly complains about attending school at Aragon saying that most of her classes are too easy or too hard for her and she does not feel she is getting the proper education we strive for. Also, Aragon seems to have no school spirit or pride, which is something students look forward to in high school. Many of my daughters friends are considering on switching schools and I am contemplating whether or not to transfer my daughter to another school because Aragon is not a school I would want her to continue to attend.
Submitted by parent on November 29, 2012

Most of the teachers are great but there are a few of them who give out extremely difficult tests, don't grade on a curve and get irritated at the students who ask questions.The honors/AP courses are the actual college course for the subjects and kids have to absorb some lesser grades that may wreck their GPA as a reward for getting into those courses in the first place. If these students could get A's in AP courses then they belong in college and not high school. There are many college students who couldn't get an A in the class so how would a high schooler be expected to. I agree with the previous post about lack of support for any student who is not performing at a high level. Recently a pre calculus student was told that if you are doing poorly then drop the class! At that level of math one could assume all the students are bright so if they arent learning who's fault is that? There does not seem to be any monitoring of the teacher grading. Some classes give a high number or poor grades and the teacher is not investigated for poor performance. So if your child is a superior student they will do well, but then kids like that teach themselves anyway.
Submitted by parent on October 08, 2011

Wow, I just read a review saying Aragon has good scored because the students are rich. I'd say that might be true for 1/4 of the kids, but there are also many from decidedly non-affluent families. However, affluent or not, many are from families that care about academics. For the others, there is a lot of support at Aragon, for example, with the AVID program. As far as harassment based on gender orientation, I'll just say that GSA (gay straight alliance) is the most popular club on campus. If someone is being harassed, for any reason, they should report it to the school counselors. My child was being harassed slightly at one point, and I found the administration extraordinarily concerned and responsive. w.r.t. teachers, like any school, there are good ones and there are less good ones, but most of the teachers at Aragon are VERY good. We've run into a few truly exceptional ones as well (think AP Bio and Freshman History, not to mention orchestra).
Submitted by parent on March 09, 2011

Aragon is an excellent school. Our child transferred from a private school sophomore year and we would highly recommend Aragon. The academics are rigorous and the kids are going to great schools. The teachers are very impressive and our child is so happy with all aspects of the school. It is nice to be at a neighborhood school with our child's friends living close by.