Requesting feedback: Northwestern High School

[Anonymous]

Hello. Can anyone provide info on Northwestern High School? Would really appreciate hearing from current parents.

[Anonymous]

My kid is an upper classman in the VPA program (visual arts) and it has been a good experience for them. I can only speak as a VPA parent because I think that the experience of the comprehensive students might be different.
-The VPA program is about 20% of the student body.
-The visual arts staff is fantastic as is the current VPA coordinator.
-The school councilors spend a lot of time making sure that the VPA student's schedules are right because they have so many graduation requirements.
-It is an additional 1.25 hours at the end of the day so it is a LONG school day.
-My impression is that the best programs are band, visual arts and vocal, followed by drama, dance and video production in that order. The jazz band was phenomenal last year.
-Academically, it's not super strong. Make sure your kid is in honors classes if they are eligible. The regular classes are just trying to get kids to pass.
-The AP class offerings are pretty meager and doing dual enrollment as a VPA student is logistically challenging.
-Athletics are hit or miss. The soccer team is fantastic but most other sports are super competitive.
- There are clubs, NHS, student government etc. I don't think that there is a ton of student participation so kids who want to be in leadership roles will get a shot.
-The Principal is fair. She has done some things that have made me shake my head but there is a marked improvement in safety and culture since she started at the school.
-The front office staff are friendly enough.
-Like many other PGCPS schools, communication is hit or miss. You often don't find out about events until the week before.

In the end, it was by far the best public school option for my kid but I realize that not all the kids in the school have the same experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is an upper classman in the VPA program (visual arts) and it has been a good experience for them. I can only speak as a VPA parent because I think that the experience of the comprehensive students might be different.
-The VPA program is about 20% of the student body.
-The visual arts staff is fantastic as is the current VPA coordinator.
-The school councilors spend a lot of time making sure that the VPA student's schedules are right because they have so many graduation requirements.
-It is an additional 1.25 hours at the end of the day so it is a LONG school day.
-My impression is that the best programs are band, visual arts and vocal, followed by drama, dance and video production in that order. The jazz band was phenomenal last year.
-Academically, it's not super strong. Make sure your kid is in honors classes if they are eligible. The regular classes are just trying to get kids to pass.
-The AP class offerings are pretty meager and doing dual enrollment as a VPA student is logistically challenging.
-Athletics are hit or miss. The soccer team is fantastic but most other sports are super competitive.
- There are clubs, NHS, student government etc. I don't think that there is a ton of student participation so kids who want to be in leadership roles will get a shot.
-The Principal is fair. She has done some things that have made me shake my head but there is a marked improvement in safety and culture since she started at the school.
-The front office staff are friendly enough.
-Like many other PGCPS schools, communication is hit or miss. You often don't find out about events until the week before.

In the end, it was by far the best public school option for my kid but I realize that not all the kids in the school have the same experience.

Sorry, it should say that sports are NOT super competitive

[Anonymous]

Also, the bus situation can be a hot mess depending on where you live. The AM bus is generally fine but the VPA bus routes can be really long making a long day even longer.

[Anonymous]

Learn the gang signs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Learn the gang signs

FWIW - My kid never experienced any sort of violence, bullying or other issues like that. Again, VPA kids probably have a different experience than the non-VPA kids.
Smoking in the bathrooms, non-compliance with uniforms and kids cutting class seem to be the biggest issues.