William Tennent High School

333 Centennial Road

School District

Centennial
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
Type

public

School Map for Centennial 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 April 21, 2023

The school is middling to good. The good teachers are extraordinary, and the bad teachers are abysmal and occasionally abusive. One teacher just recently bragged to his class that even though he is not supposed to have food in his class, he still allows and encourages it, and also bragged about exposing a food allergic student to the food. This same teacher also called a character in a book who was a teen victim of SA “whiny.”The excellent teachers, like Mr. Beal, Mr. Veltre, Ms. K-B and Ms. Hoban are amazing and supportive teachers. The counselors and gifted advisors are encouraging, wonderful support systems in place for the students.The school district overall is good for gifted students, but special needs students may find some challenges. The elevators routinely break, leaving wheelchair bound children cut off from their classes.
Submitted by other on November 18, 2019

Teachers are nice rooms are spacious building is big
Submitted by other on July 06, 2019

I had a great time and the teaches cared about there students. I was in the top 10 % in my graduating class in 1989
Submitted by student on May 28, 2018

Really good time in this school. New and clean environment recommended to everyone
Submitted by other on May 14, 2014

William tennent is an excellent school. It is completely up to your child if they want to reach success and exaggerates the point that not everything in life is handed to you. As for for academic programs there is many courses and help provided for students. Compared to private schools such as villa, villa does not offer help in children with children who struggle with disabilities. Tennent has a abundance of activities and I personally know people who want to come to this school rather than going to private school just because of how well our classes and extra curricular actives are. I can guarantee your child will have a great experience here if they are willing to learn and apply themselves. Over all tennent is a beautiful school considering the remodeling and constantly having fun things to do. Besides tennents everyday courses, they offer MBIT which is a trade school for students interested. I highly reccomend this school. P.s a majority of doctors at my hospital I work at are all William tennent graduates making close to 150k or more a year. Best of wishes
Submitted by parent on March 21, 2014

My boys either have gone, are attending or will begin next year. There is a sense of pride within the school and the music program is second to none. Fortunately, both my boys are honor roll students and are flourishing, their friends seem to be as well. As for the negative comments about language, my older son is going into his 4th yr of German next yr, younger will be in 2nd year. They LOVE it and the teachers. I do feel some of the teachers can be a little less uptight, but only a very few I am thinking of. There will always be different categories of students, those that have plans for a bright future and those that are there only because they have to and they put in little to no effort. This is the case everywhere. One more really important thing I commend is the accomodations for special needs in the school and classrooms. I have always had support and cooperation for my older step who was handicapped and my youngest, who is mildly autistic. All schools and districts have test scores and ranks, but few give consideration to special needs programs unless it's a way of life for them. That said, I am pretty content as to what the school is providing to my boys
Submitted by student on August 11, 2013

William Tennent is a hit or miss, you get what you put into it. If you're used to having things offered to you without trying, then you're going to be disappointed. You really have to try and be ambitious if you want to have the best experience possible at Tennent. There are a lot of clubs, but some are unorganized. The art funding is minimum and it's too sports oriented, but the art programs that we do have is our strongest quality. Theater and musicals are underfunded, however the theater kids are not very nice as a whole and kind of stuck up. There is an okay LGBT scene, however some people can be rude about it-just ignore them and you'll be fine. Tennent used up a lot of its budget on the new school, so there are a lot of budget cuts. The foreign language program isn't very strong, there are few teachers-and only one or two of them are very commendable. The English, Science, History and Art teachers are mostly good-a few really great teachers who really care about their students. It's hard to change classes and the counselors are not always available. There are going to be some behavioral issues or fights, and people have anger issues, but just respect them.
Submitted by other on July 29, 2013

As a current student here, I can tell you that Tennent is a hit or miss. The music program is great, but music classes don't always into an honors or AP schedule. The art program is also great but underclassmen have to sacrifice their world language to take them. The staff can be somewhat idiotic with policies. Girls who wear shorts that couldn't even be acceptable as underwear go unpunished while girls who have shorts or skirts that are inches longer than the rule are harassed. Also, when it comes to AP classes...... They only have one or two of each class in the schedule. There's a huge focus on sports. Some of the teams are very good but the football team is mediocre. Plus, the students have no manners whatsoever. The kids make a point of being rude to their teachers and fellow students. They also do not focus on their grades or extracurriculars (unless they play sports or are in music). The counselors are no help either. When I went in to the office, I knew more about colleges and local enrichment programs than she did. Still, there are some great teachers on the staff. The biology and English teachers are great.
Submitted by parent on February 01, 2013

I went to Tennent 20 years ago and thought it was a good school. My son attends now and the school is not the same. Teachers have lost their way. Teachers have not treated my son like he is a human being. It's very sad that the school has declined in my opinion. I am hoping they clean up the school by weeding out the bad apples in the faculty basket. I am so sorry I enrolled my son in this school and if I could go back I would never have done it!!!
Submitted by parent on December 01, 2010

Your school experience is what you make of it. I have a daughter who graduated from this school and she went on to excel in college and is now a public school teacher herself. I have a son and daughter there now and theyre doing well and participating in some sports and some honors classes and after school activities. Tennent serves an average suburban area. It's neither affluent nor poor and the local schools will reflect that. To some extent were all products of our environment. In a few short months there will be a brand new William Tennent HS for the students to go to. Remember, this school is free to attend from our property taxes! If you want to, send your kids to Germantown Academy for $26,000 a year in tuition!