From the moment that I walked in to Forest Meadow Middle School, I could feel the pride and sense…read moreof community at the place. I have been here for several events that they hsve had, both as a spectator and participant, and every time I have had that sense of community when I was on campus. Whether it be the school, staff and administration, or it be members of the PTA, or even members of the student body, these folks have delivered on every visit that I have made on this campus. Today I was on campus for a fundraiser event and it was just amazing to see them all coming together to raise money for a worthy cause. Specifically, this weekend's event was a PTA fundraiser, and the event raised almost 40k to support the school and resources for the students...now THAT'S some community pride!

Our daughter love, love this school! Strong academics,…read moregreat atmosphere makes our child trill academically and emotionally! Complete opposite experience then previous high school she attended. Bending Oaks High School was excellent choice!

I felt compelled to review Bending Oaks High School after reading Jane T. and Carrie C's reviews…read more Just changing schools is not a fix for any child, but choosing the right one along with support and love at home can make a huge difference. Bending Oaks help save my son. He is an amazing, intelligent kid who was miserable as a sophomore at Southlake Carroll High School. After years of believing Carroll was the best we realized a change had to be made. As Jane T. and Carrie C. suggest, we interviewed, visited and "test drove" the school and my son made the most difficult decision to leave his friends and commute 60 miles each day to Bending Oaks. He has not regretted the decision and nor have we. My Son feels Bending Oaks, help change his life. I agree Bending Oaks is not for everyone and as we found out, neither is Southlake Carroll. With any private school a parent and student should find the best match. I like to describe Bending Oaks as a Dot Com and other traditional schools as big corporations. There is a mutual respect between the "management" and "individual contributors" and all are invested in the success of the school. The proof of Bending Oaks' is in my son. He was a child full of life who completely lost his spark and regained it at Bending Oaks. As a sophomore at Carroll we were afraid he wouldn't graduate. He is a senior now with a great ACT score and has 100% college acceptances one is San Diego State University. SDSU is the most desired and impacted California State University with an acceptance rate of 36%. We are so very proud of our son and so very thankful to Bending Oaks. I find the reviews by Jane T. and Carrie C. not only insulting to the teachers and staff of Bending Oaks but also to the parents and students who trust Bending Oaks every day. This is a biased but legitimate review by a parent.

My youngest daughter was educated in the RISD grades 1-12. In 2 nd grade,she was selected to…read moreparticipate in the Magnet program. After elementary, prior to entering junior high,she was required to select a course of study based on her preferences, testing and availability. She choose science and leadership. Continuing through this program with distinction,she graduated and went on to Texas Tech University. After a biology/ chemistry degree she entered a career in the scientific community where today she is honored and respected after excelling in science. I give a tremendous amount of credit for her success to the RISD Magnet program and the professional educators that were dedicated enough to follow through,assuring students took full advantage of a special curriculum offered them. No doubt,it has positively affected many lives over the years. Definitely,my daughter is proof, commitment to education by public school districts works.

The Richardson High School Multi-Use Activities Center is a great addition to the campus! This…read morecenter now prevents weather from being a factor in practices and games. It also has a fantastic weight training center attached to it for athlete conditioning. Today I was here to watch my grandson's football scrimmage. On a day when it is a heat index of 107, as a spectator it was nice to be inside in the shade, so I know the athletes appreciate it as well! Review #2068

My experience in Hillcrest High School has so far been the worst for my sophomore year. It was the…read moreworst during my freshman year last year but this school has drained my energy enough.. The school feels like a freaking prison. The staff doesn't do their job well, the program sucks when it comes to performing arts, and most of all, students here are unrealistic. Always making me feel like an adult here and I'm a student. Last year I tried my hardest to address the teachers and Mr. Flourie about non-black students saying the N-Word. None of them did a single thing to actually prevent this problem. For example, I came to Mr. Flourie's office and addressed him about the boys who I have told constantly to stop saying the N-Word. He said he understood and he knows a lot of students come to him about this situation. I also told him if he could bring every student to the auditorium and tell them what the word means. And told him if he doesn't then I'll do it myself. Later on, he actually came into my biology class and told everyone not to say it. And that's all. You can't just come into a classroom and expect the students to stop saying it. As an African American it feels very offensive to hear it come out of any non-black person's mouth like it's a word we use as a joke. This is a school I'll be giving no stars to, I will not recommend you to go here. Most parents and students here share their problems with the staff but sometimes it's never solved. The security guards are the people who make the experience feel like a prison, especially the council for me. If they see you walk in the hallway, like two times, they'll say, "You've been walking in this hallway too much," usually it's the 10th grade sophomore who says things like that, always being exaggerated with students. Then the female security guard who wears braids is the one who always yells at children for the smallest reasons. She wants to find a problem with every little thing, if there was a student who's in a marching band and eating next to the hallway during lunch, she'll literally scream at them. This security guard is jealous of almost half of the students there at school. The sophomore council and the security guard are mainly the two people who make me feel like I'm in a prison. I have a lot of problems at this school and honestly I'm done with everyone... If you're planning on going to this school I sure do hope you have a better experience than me. And if it turns out like mine then try to make the best of it. Sincerely Lady Chelsie :)

The new lady who replaced de Jesus plays a very nice, nasty character. She's not genuine but wants…read morerespect from everybody. I don't understand how you could enter a new environment and expect students and staff to just respect you. She isn't representing the black community in the right way. This school has to do better. Since she walks around with papers in her hand, she needs to take notes on how to fix the school instead of picking on teachers, students, and staff. She will be the reason many more kids will stop showing up. She should've built her way up. I'm highly, highly disappointed.

mrs. cooley was trying to pull down my shorts but completely touched everything on me in the middle…read moreof the hallway. completely inappropriate in high school. the fact that my backpack could pull my shorts up and someone (during 2020 where no one could touch eachother) this woman came up to me and literally totally pantsed me to pull down my shorts. I was wearing lulu lemon shorts and a sweatshirt. i have never been so humiliated in my highschool.

I went to highland park high school for 4 years. I love this place with the education and fun clubs…read moreto join. You can't go wrong putting your kids into main stream high school. The teachers here are amazing . I met a teacher there made an impact to my life. There is a special needs program in highland park. And I co founded a chapter in my high school for a non profit organization called best buddies. So put you child here for a great experience.

Alright Im just gonna keep it 100 with you I know if you scroll down past (or up) from my review…read moreyou'll probably see some terrible 1 star reviews about this school (not saying they aren't valid) but I'd like to let the record show that most of those horrible things that are in this school's past, and under the new leadership with Mrs. Graham, things are now looking a lot different. Like a lot a lot different I'm currently a Junior at this school so this is my 3rd year here and I've honestly seen a lot of the negative things the other people mentioned, drugs and iPad addictions and all that, and you guys would be shocked what happens when new leadership (along with smaller enrollment) comes into play. When I was a freshman, I saw a lot of the bad that DL had to offer, with the things I mentioned earlier, along with an overall confusion because I thought this was supposed to be a Christian school. BUT now all that has changed under Mrs. Graham, because with the new rules she put in place along with a small amount of kids it does seriously look a lot better from the perspective of a student who is really involved with many different activities and having the privilege of talking to people here every single day. Yeah, Dallas Lutheran isn't perfect (I think that goes without saying), but I do sincerely believe this school is better than the alternatives, especially if you are a family who values a Christian education more than anything else. I went to a Christian school for my entire life (loved my other one too btw), and one thing I've seen in both schools is that the faculty does truly care about Jesus. We have chapel 1 time a week and theology class 3 times a week, in which we can have meaningful conversations with our teacher and classmates, and if God calls you, to even speak at chapel! (I've done it a couple times its super cool.) But at the end of the day, people are very flawed (even the great ones that go to Dallas Lutheran) and I'm sure there have been many people who have horrible experiences with students/teachers here, but seriously I can't emphasize enough how much change I've seen in my 3 years here Mrs. Graham and the entire staff might be actual superheroes. Dallas Lutheran is special for a lot of things, but honestly my favorite is the family aspect I've gotten from it. Seeing a school with 60 kids in it might scare you away from sending your kid here, but from someone who's experienced this my entire life, I can tell you how beneficial it's been for my growth spiritually, academically, emotionally, and in every other -ly way that I can't really think of. Being surrounded by the same people in most of your classes, on top of sports and other extracurriculars may seem like it sucks at first, but really it's super cool to build these bonds with people and know that it'll last far beyond the 4-7 years you could spend here. I know they throw the word "family" around a lot at this school, but I don't think there's a better word to describe this place, when I look around me I see my brothers and sisters in Christ! This also helps in the classroom, because if a teacher sees I'm struggling, we can have a conversation and they can help me because they actually know me on a human level and took the time to understand the things that I'm going through, while at other schools they usually wouldn't have the time to care about all of their students individually. The small school setting also allows for kids to be involved in many different opportunities, like sports or drama, which normally people wouldn't get the chance to participate in. I kid you not I could talk about this school for days, but seriously if you are reading this and you're thinking of sending your child here or even coming here yourself, I cannot reccomend anything higher than Dallas Lutheran. I'm done glazing now just being honest I love going to school here I love being with all the students I love all the teachers and the staff its really such a great environment and it's actually a night and day difference from the way it was a few years ago and how my friends tell me it was before I got here. Last thing, even if you don't end up coming here, I pray that you would stand firm in your faith no matter where you go, and that the Holy Spirit would guide you in ALL of your endeavors! God bless, Go Lions!!!

I wrote a review about the school a couple of years ago. My background and understanding of the…read moreschool is more than your average person as I myself am graduate and I taught there for almost 30 years. My husband was also an administrator for the same length of time. I want to remind people that reviews coming from parents are often quite skewed through the eyes of their child. It doesn't mean it's not relevant, but without the proper background information you must not believe everything you hear. If you have ever raised a teenager, then you know what I'm talking about and if you haven't, please understand that they often exaggerate based on their hormones and also their social skills. Drugs are in every school. I'm always amazed when parents say how surprised they are to hear what their child has seen heard. These are NOT NEW or rampant issues anymore than any other school in the entire state. Getting a Christian education does not mean that you were going to be surrounded by perfect people. My experience at school is based on one on one conversations with students. They supported my belief that some of the kids were involved with marijuana and had issues with vaping. Like any school I've ever worked in the kids have access to alcohol often due to older siblings or parents that don't care. Again, this is absolutely no different than any other school in existence. To be transparent: The school is under a brand new administrator who has the heart of a lion! Many people pray that she will be the one that makes a difference. The school was hit by a tornado in 2019 and that's what put them in the portables. Fundraising has been done to begin a build on the property, but there have been many issues with the city, with the loan, and with the rising cost of materials. Covid along with the tornado changed everything The school board from about 2018-2022 is responsible for many of the issues that the school dealt with. They absolutely did not follow policy and many members needed to be removed. This has changed, thank the Lord! The leadership is now very trustworthy and they follow policy! The academics have always been solid and indeed many things have changed regarding enrollment. The school has never wanted to reject any family who wishes their child to have a Christian education. So comments about "they take everybody and anybody "are incredibly judgmental and not worthy of any kind of response. The involvement of parents has always been good - but over the past 10 to 15 years things have changed regarding parental care. I believe it's due to social media, but students are incredibly lazy and unfocused. This is not a criticism of spirit or personality. It is a criticism of the social network that surrounds the student. Again, to be transparent, I was forced to leave the school in 2020. I left due to an unethical administrator, and two other administrators who, for the most part are gone. His desire not to be criticized and called out on not only unethical issues but foundational Christian behavior. But I know the foundation of Lutheran education, and I believe that Dallas Lutheran school still holds dear to the Bible and our belief in Jesus Christ as Savior. Take my review and all of these with a grain of salt. There is truth here and some of the things that have been said happen. But the criticism of the faculty and the staff is unsupported and biased. You have no idea what the teachers of Dallas Lutheran high school have gone through over the last 40 years. Remember, I no longer teach there and not by choice. And I still know that nobody cares as much as they do! Add to that a school secretary, who is literally a "school mom" to the students and often the faculty and staff! She is brilliant.