Research Henry M. Jackson High School Public Schools in Mountlake Terrace, Washington

“Excellant accessbility to sporting fields”

“Excellent school with good tech program. Many good teachers with a few bad mixed in. But most teachers are excellent. Good language program.”

“The technology at the school is good. Being a fairly new school, it is pretty clean. Some math teachers are not good. Quality of teachers are about average since there are superior ones and mediocre ones.”

“I stumbled upon this site while looking for the Jackson website. As an alumni of Jackson (Class of '97) I was amazed at some of the comments that were posted to this site. Since most of these comments are coming from parents it is really sad to see how little they understand about High School and then College. Jackson and it's 4x4 day helped me 100xs better prepared for college than I would have had I attended a six period day. While at Jackson I was able to take to UW English courses and Advanced Calculus all while still being able to enjoy athletics. Parents who say things like 'sometimes the kid just needs that D' are doing a disservice to their kids and need to recheck their priorities. High School is not meant to be easy it is meant to prepare kids for the future.”

“overall i think this school is terrible. The teachers are not all responsible. I think they should improve their teachers motives to teach kids better.”

“Jackson high school can be good but it can also be terrible. There are many good teachers there but there is also one or two terrible ones. Jacksons math department isn't very good but there are a few exceptional math teachers. Like many public schools students have to deal with the buracracy of the school system which i think is terrible at Jackson. If you don't want your son or daughter to be pushed around by worthless rules this school is not for you. They have very good musical programs and an abundance of usefull after school activities. As long as you fight through the system and get the good teachers this school is great.”

“I am currently a sophomore at JHS and love our standards. I am not happy about changing from a 4 period day to a 6 period day. I find it funny to see many parents complaing that JHS is 'to hard' for their child, but yet it doesn't offer enough AP classes. One reason JHS is changing is becuase a small, but loud group of parents are unhappy with standerds at JHS. (To high or to low) However, many of the students at JHS are happy with the standards and especally the shceual. Many feshmen don't think they will like the 4X4 day until they experence it. in a 6 period day we won't have enough time in a 6 period say for the year to met mininum college standards. Maybe if parents talked to their child they would find their student is/was happy with the standards set at JHS.”

“As a student at JHS, I feel that Jackson's 'problem' does not lie within the 4x4 system, but within our lack of administrative presence and poor teaching staff. Although there are a handful of remarkable teachers at Jackson, many are teaching classes they are not qualified to teach or simply do not care about the educational well-being of the students. Despite the negatives associated with the 4x4 system, there are several postive aspects to the 4-period day. There is more student-teacher communication, classwork can be further explained if a student does not understand, and the graduation requirements are catered to entering a 4-year university (ie Foreign Language required to graduate, and 3 Math credits vs. 2 credits, etc.) Overall, I feel that Jackson would be a lot more promising and better-viewed if our staff and administration was upgraded, and the 4x4 system was not considered the root of the problem.”

“Many parents variance their children out of H.M.Jackson High. Many parents I talk to are disatisfied with their child's educational experience and find no one willing to listen to their concerns. Obviously there is a problem - whether it is due to administration, schedule or poor communication is unclear. My student is a 10th grader who had a terrible experience with 9th grade honors - teachers who did not seem to listen or care about parent or student concerns. The year was a wasted one for my student. I am optimistic that Jackson has the potential to be a great school. My student has had a few excellent teachers who worked hard to create an excellent learning environment.”

“My child had been at Jackson since 9TH grade. She is now a Sophmore ane we are actively trying to get her out of Jackson. There are several teachers who have chips on their shoulders and when questioned by a parent, responds negatively. The morale of my child due to the grading system has slipped badly in the last two years. I have never heard of a schools grading system dropping from a C to an E. Some children need that 'D'. Jackson was designed to be a prep school for those that wanted to go on to college to pursue a careeer. However, it is a public school and there are several children that do not have the high intelligence that a 'prep' school requires. Overall, I think Jackson High needs to make some big changes if they are going to keep students coming. Teachers need to be more willing to work with students when questioned regarding homework assignments and projects.”

“I think there is a real lack of leadership when it comes down to it... This year there have been some positive changes. The Dean and Mr. Flaherty actually talk to the students and get to know them. It's something every Principal who cares about building the communtity needs to do, and the Principal in charge has neglected to do. The environment of the school is very rulebound. The class structure and lack of AP offerings has been another issue. Some teachers carry too large of load or are put in classes to teach subject matter that they don't specialize in. There have been many sticky situations that could have been avoided with a good leader in this school. I hope for improvement or our younger student won't be attending HMJ when he reaches the age.”

“I've had 3 children go to Jackson. I wish I had pulled them and gone elsewhere. The first was a straight A student, who was demotivated with the system at Jackson. The second decided to take just enough classes to graduate, and attended Community College after school. She is now on the Dean's list at her college, through no help from Jackson. My last child has struggled with the system, has not received any help or guidance, and even with my active involvement, has not received any help. Even though there are some caring teachers there, the educational system is suspect at best. It is also clear that there are a handful of parents who dictate what goes on in all aspects of the school. As a parent I wasted my kids time there, and I encourage parents to send their kids elsewhere!”

“Reading the post stating the Jackson has no honors or AP classes is not only My incorrect but ridiculous. Jackson offers honors classes all four years in humanities, AP classes in humanities, math and art. Many former students contact my children (who attend JHS) to report back that the teacher expectations and education they received at JHS helped them in transitioning to university life. In many classes the focus is on teaching students to think critically, argue analytically and be creative. My son was one who believed he was 'entitled' to an 'A' as he'd always received them in the past. It only took him one semester to realize an 'A' was something you had to work for and wasn't given out. Without my supporting the school he may have been one of the students who never pushed himself to excel and wouldn't be as succesful post high. I believe if you want to know the truth about HM Jackson you ought to take the time to become involved with school activities, PTSA, and volunteer to work in the classrooms where your students are working.”

“Jackson has serious problems meeting the educational needs for children who are interested in pursuing a college education and are high achievers. The lack of an Honors program leaves no advanced options for students coming out the Challenge Program in the Middle School. The current principal and certain teachers in the English/Humanities program have opposed offering Advanced Placment classes and this hurts students who are headed to college. A big change is needed to make this school competitive with other similar high schools in the area, such as Kamiak, Edmonds-Woodway or the Bellevue District.”

“I have three children who have graduated from HM Jackson HS. They have all gone on to the university and credit the education received at Jackson with helping them succeed, especially the senior essays and project. College is easier because of the work they did at Jackson. The four period day helped them be able to pursue their interests in music and science.”

“Fantastic Choices! Due to the 4x4 schedule, senior students have many opportunities to challenge themselves academically. Under this system, students choose options that are the best fit for the level of difficulty and effort they wish to undertake. A student can earn up to 10 college credits while remaining at high school! A student may take up to 3 AP classes within the Humanities Block, score well on the May exams, and earn up to 13 elective college credits! Ultimately, a student can decide which credit best suits their future academic plans. No other high school offers these many choices!”

“Readers need to know that the current controversey surrounding Jackson HS has been perpetuated by a diminuative yet vocal group of people. Just a few individuals have been relentlessly pushing to change the schedule at HMJ. Their motivation stems from their bizarre notion that the 4x4 schedule is the root of all evil. Their efforts have been nothing short of epidemic, including a dedicated website and a constant barrage of mean and inflamatory criticism. They mostly seem interested in trying to trip people up, and their effect has been primarily obstructional, not instructional.”

“Henry M. Jackson High School was flawed from its beginning in 1995. The founders sought to create a progressive school with the latest fads to come out of the education colleges. They adopted the controversial 4x4 block schedule. They adopted the lackluster Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) philosophy. They ignored the overwhelming evidence and did not adopt the College Board s Advanced Placement (AP) courses or the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, the 2 top high school curricula. The result has been a very low performing school especially for its demographics. Thankfully this is changing from leadership at the district level. For the 2003/2004 school year, JHS will have 6 core AP courses. And these courses are open to all students who want to work hard.”

“HM Jackson High school offers no programs for children with disabilities. While they do have Special Ed classes they are determined to place the learning or lack thereof on the child. They offer no Vocational courses and have a higher passing grade than most schools (70) instead of 65. While they say they want parental input the teachers fail to show for scheduled conferences and lack of communication between parent / teacher makes it hard to monitor your childs progress. The administrators are quick to place blame of failure on the child. IEP's or 504's are not followed and many times teachers are not aware they even exist.”