Estes Park High School

Posted: December 15, 2022

Posted: December 15, 2022

Posted: December 15, 2022

Posted: December 15, 2022

Posted: December 15, 2022

Posted: December 15, 2022

Posted: December 15, 2022

Posted: December 15, 2022

I was enrolled in the Estes Park School District until my 9th grade year, when the high school experience became unbearable. After my Freshman year, I found myself in an extremely poor mental state, which required therapy and lots of medication to get myself back to normal. This mental state was the result of my high school experience and included extreme academic pressure, anxiety, depression, and terrible teachers who do not care about your life after high school or how the academics apply to the real-world, but rather they treat their courses like academic competitions. Therefore, after seeing what only one year at the high school had down to me, I immediately enrolled in online school programs that would end up being the best choice I have made thus far in my life. So, to any parents or students considering the Estes Park School District, and specifically the high school (EPHS), I must warn you of the severe risks and consequences these schools pose to students, and I highly recommended entertaining the idea of online school programs before putting your children (or yourself) through this experience. I can assure that you (as a student) or your children will develop high stress levels and a rapid increase of anxiety, even if you or your children are not prone to such symptoms; metaphorically, this school is a prison, and is not a place of education and learning, but rather stripping a student of all their color. With this in mind, here are some points to my high school experience that must be noted:

• Academics:
Even though I have always excelled in academics, the high school puts unreasonable strain on students to complete an unrealistic amount of assignments that will never benefit them in the real-world. An example is the “Olympic Games” activity. To summarize, this “activity” was a rigged academic competition amongst groups of students where teachers were able to live out their strange fantasies. Not only that, but the activity was very intense, and the teachers would aggressively students to perform strange tasks that did not pertain to a realistic education.

•Social Environment :
The social environment at the high school is awful; both teachers and students bully and act “wild.” In fact, I had a teacher who engaged the class in making fun of me for wanting to leave the course due to its unreasonable workload. This is common behavior from most teachers. Students, on the other hand, have the freedom to do whatever they want to their peers.

Posted: August 19, 2018

Posted: August 19, 2018

Posted: August 19, 2018

Posted: August 19, 2018

Posted: August 19, 2018

Posted: August 19, 2018

Posted: August 19, 2018

Horrible, the overall experience is bad. There are only 3 really good teachers and 2 of them left. We need better staff

Posted: May 31, 2015

Our daughter just completed her freshman year at EPHS. Being new to the area she had to make new friends and adjust to a new system, but even taking 4 honors courses, and participating in 2 school plays, she ended the year with all "A's". In our opinion overall the teachers were very supportive to any students who applied themselves. The Internet based daily updates on our daughters progress from the school administration helped immensely with communication. Additional providing all the students with iPads placed this school ahead of most high schools.

Posted: January 7, 2015

This school is very poor. There has been a new principal for every year for the last few years! The administration is terrible, and some of them talk about the students behind their backs! It's extremely disrespectful, and childish. They use the block scheduling system, and it's not a good system. It's proven that students check out at around 45-60 minutes of class time 90 minutes is too much!

Posted: November 21, 2013

He student's at this school are great. Almost entirely devoid of cliques or exclusion, everyone is accepted and there is near no bullying. That being said, there are about two decent teachers. The administration is awful. And if you need any extra help beyond the average student, you have no place to turn, great for my social life, awful for my education.

Posted: October 20, 2013

As far as the student experience goes, I am very happy with EPHS. I have two freshmen and they are telling me that everyone is really nice here, unlike the school system we came from. My issue is with communication - I think there is a lot of room for improvements in how this school communicates with parents - basically, there is none...

Posted: April 5, 2013

My eldest son (special ed) attends this school. I was worried when he started because, although the SPED program has vastly improved in the ES & MS, the HS was not yet used to the inclusion model being used in the lower grades. I have been very pleased so far. Our SPED teacher is young, enthusiastic, and creative in working with parents, students and teachers to effect a positive outcome for all students. My child has many challenges but he is finding success in high school thanks to her and the open minded classroom teachers who have welcomed him. Also, his fellow students have been incredibly supportive and caring. Our small size can be a plus because it contributes to a sense of community. Kudos!

Posted: April 29, 2012

I came here in the 2011-2012 school year as a new student in this high school, let alone the district. When I came, I was expecting a typical public high school with a lot of kids. In reality, it's a small school, small that the student body is kind of like family to me. The school does encourage kids to get involved in some way. I'm on the track team. The kids as a whole do support each other and they mostly get along. There are teachers however that I'd rather be with than others. There were a few, but not a lot of teachers I disliked. My favorite is my science teacher. He is open to the kids, pays a lot of attention to them, and gives out many opportunities to pass the class. My least favorite is my English teacher. She is very young and is knowledgeable about English, but she isn't always easy going. Sometimes I felt like the work she gave out had absolutely no purpose whatsoever. My real complaint has to be with the administration. They don't seem to be trying hard enough encouraging the students to succeed. This school is on a long road to go. I give 4 stars because of the kids and most of the staff, but 1 star is left out due to the lack of work the administration is doing.

Posted: February 9, 2012

I've had two children in this high school and in general it is a great small school that gives individualized attention to the students. Classes are small (7-10 kids in some classes), and yet there is a good variety of subjects and levels - including many honors courses and even online courses for specialized subjects. Good attention to ESL students. Teachers are available and email often with any concerns. All the school employees seem to know and honor all the kids. Most everyone goes to college or graduates with a plan for something - and local organizations go out of their way to work with the school and raise some sort of grant or scholarships for every student who is going away to school - this is celebrated at a big scholarship awards night for the kids. My favorite aspect of this school are the kids themselves - it is a small town and they really support each other. I don't see bullying of kids who are different. I'm really glad my kids experienced this level of support and have the confidence and happiness that comes from a good caring school environment.

Posted: November 8, 2010

This is one of the best schools in the state! I highly recommend it!

Posted: October 5, 2010

As another reviewer wrote, if your child has any special needs or needs even a little bit of extra attention they will DIVEBOMB in this district. After years of putting up with this poor school system I pulled all 3 of my kids out and enrolled them in online school. What a huge difference! No more petty disputes with administrators, no more teachers badmouthing their bosses during valuable teacher/parent conference time. And real enthusiasm for school work! If you are moving to Estes make sure you check out the online school options because you WILL need them. This school district is in trouble, has been for years, and has ZERO leadership potential to turn it around. Did I mention the former administrator that was indicted? Yeah.