Croatan High School

Posted: November 20, 2024

Posted: November 20, 2024

Posted: November 20, 2024

Posted: November 20, 2024

Posted: November 20, 2024

Posted: November 20, 2024

Posted: November 20, 2024

Posted: November 20, 2024

Teachers and Administrators provide a positive environment for every student! Willing to assist in all aspects of registering, education, college preparation, and those who take longer to learn are all treated equally! I love the vibe with the administrators, teachers and students!

Posted: August 20, 2024

Posted: August 20, 2024

Posted: August 20, 2024

Posted: August 20, 2024

Posted: August 20, 2024

Posted: August 20, 2024

Posted: August 20, 2024

Posted: August 20, 2024

I’ll start out by saying that Croatan has some great teachers. I went there, and I was lucky enough to have teachers that made a positive impact on me. Not all of them were good, but the ones that were seemed to truly care about our education, and made an effort to connect with every student. However, the administration is a complete and utter joke. Another review here is spot on in saying that the administration heavily favors a specific group of students. It is honestly very strange. If your child does not fit into their pre-defined favoritism box, they will not receive any support, and the administration will likely purposefully hinder their efforts instead of helping them be successful.

Any test scores or stats that the administration likes to brag about is entirely due to the efforts of teaching staff. The administration does less than nothing to create a positive educational environment for learning and growth, and instead fosters an environment of exclusion and superiority. They set a terrible example for students, and consistently make it harder for students or teachers to do exceptional work. If you want your child to go on to do great things, I would look elsewhere. I am not sure how they lucked into their position, but for the students’ sake, I hope one day they are replaced with strong and competent leaders.

Posted: January 13, 2024

This school is amazing! Everyone in the administration assistant is in transferring from another school, with very welcoming assistant above and beyond what anyone could expect! The teachers immediately assisted our student to assist him not only welcoming him to the school, but helping him with his academic goals and course work! The teaching staff seems very excited to be part of each child’s development, and eager to assist them even after class or at the end of school. Academic success is great, with every teacher ensuring students know the material and not just how to take a test. Outside environment is great, with most of the students all participating and assisting other students in sports. I can’t say enough about how glad we are to be here!

Posted: January 13, 2024

Posted: January 13, 2024

Posted: January 13, 2024

Posted: January 13, 2024

Posted: January 13, 2024

Posted: January 13, 2024

Posted: January 13, 2024

Posted: November 23, 2022

Posted: November 23, 2022

Posted: November 23, 2022

Posted: November 23, 2022

Posted: November 23, 2022

Posted: November 23, 2022

Posted: November 23, 2022

Posted: November 23, 2022

Great teachers and staff. My daughter had a dream of graduating Croatan but was bullied right out the door by a gang of 9th grade girls. No wonder bullying is the number one cause of school age suicide! Schools need to take action before these shootings occur.

Posted: June 21, 2022

Posted: June 21, 2022

Posted: June 21, 2022

Posted: June 21, 2022

Posted: June 21, 2022

Posted: June 21, 2022

Posted: June 21, 2022

Posted: June 21, 2022

I am a retired NC high school teacher, moved to Carteret County, and now enjoy subbing at Croatan HS. I have been very impressed with the teaching staff, the administration, and especially the students. I would go out of my way to send my children (or grandchildren in my case) here. Croatan truly is an A+ school. There will always be students who complain about school, because after all, they are teenagers. These students have it pretty good and most are respectful and hard working. If they WANT a good education, they can certainly get an excellent one at Croatan.

Posted: June 19, 2021

Posted: June 19, 2021

I currently go here and can say that it is an alright high school. Despite most of the one star reviews the school is no where near as bad as its made out to be. I can guarantee any parent sending their kid here will be pleased with around 70% of the teachers working here. The ones I've had such as Willis, Dyer, and Ventre are some of the best teachers I've had in my life. The class selection isn't very good, and most of the electives are pretty lackluster despite a few. Going on to the mentality of the school. Croatan is very big into sports. That is a good and a bad thing. The good thing about it, is it encourages students to join more sports since a lot of the coaches are very eager to get students on the team. The bad thing is, the school spends a lot of its budget on sports and other worn down parts of the school show that. The students here are a mixed bunch, there's a lot of potheads, rich snobs, and a few "troubled" students. But the others are good. Depending on what type of child you have, the people here are either going to be fine, or are going to be very annoying. For me, it was a mix of both. Lastly, and most importantly, the administration. Quite possibly the worst part of Croatan is the higher ups. Somehow the principal(s) seem(s) to be more accepting, and dare I say friends with the kids who are always causing trouble on the campus, and are always being the rudest to the kids who do nothing wrong. If your kid wants to be accepted by these administrators they either have to be terrible students, rich students, or star athletes. There is no in between. the administrators try to overshadow this by saying "oh, we have high testing scores..." and while yes, we are very academically prepared, we are ill prepared in a lot of other departments. Overall, it's a toss up whether you should send your kids here. I would say go with your gut. I don't know if my review is the best but I do hope anyone reading this gets some closure on whether they should send their kids here or not.

Posted: June 19, 2021

Posted: June 19, 2021

Posted: June 19, 2021

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Posted: June 19, 2021

Posted: June 19, 2021

Posted: February 10, 2021

Posted: February 10, 2021

This school is not for everyone. It is a semi-private school environment with high standards with strict rules and dress codes. Students have gone to MIT, Duke, Yale, Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, Stanford after graduating from Croatan. If you have the ability, good parenting, and drive, they can get you there. The negative comments are from the kids and parents that do not believe in prioritizing education and discipline. Students from Croatan have gone to the highest level colleges in the United States.

Posted: February 10, 2021

Posted: February 10, 2021

Posted: February 10, 2021

Posted: February 10, 2021

Posted: February 10, 2021

Posted: February 10, 2021

Posted: December 15, 2020

Posted: December 15, 2020

what a great school they let you vape in the bathroom and never get caught. would give more stars if i cold!

Posted: December 15, 2020

Posted: December 15, 2020

Posted: December 15, 2020

Posted: December 15, 2020

Posted: December 15, 2020

Posted: December 15, 2020

Posted: May 8, 2020

Absolutely horrible. Teachers disrespected my religion and said theres no evidence to believe in God. Teachers and staff only care about grades not mental health. The principle is completely insane. Has no respect towards others and the kids with rich parents get treating way better and with more respect. There is favoritism towards wealthier families. Dress code is ridiculous. The principal hunts down students for having a rip in their jean even if it isn'w showing. I have witnessed the principal several times act unprofessionally towards students, by saying things she shouldn't say at school. I have seen here chase a student down, literally run down the hall to catch a student who had a little rip in their jeans the size of half a dime. It was the end of the day and the student was leaving school and she was acting ridiculous like the world was ending sprinting down the hall to hunt the student. Anyone can say this is absolutely crazy.
The school does not have any freedom or their priorities straight. Many student will agree that they only care about grades and their reputation. I would never send my kid here. Such a toxic environment, especially because of the students too. Over half the kids there vape in bathrooms or in class and never get caught. Ive seen many people come to school high. Way too strict for no reason. School should be fun but instead Croatan makes in into the worst environment a kid could go through.

Posted: May 8, 2020

Posted: May 8, 2020

Posted: May 8, 2020

Posted: May 8, 2020

Posted: May 8, 2020

Posted: May 8, 2020

Posted: December 6, 2016

Croatan is the top school in East NC. Friendly staff, beautiful campus and students have access to great opportunities.

Posted: December 18, 2014

We are fairly new to the area and are still unsure wether this was good choice of high school. I really want to hear other parents experiences here good or bad. I am feeling very negatively at this point and am hoping my feelings are wrong and that this is a better place for my kids to be. Is there a website parents can go to in order to express concerns and talk to other parents?

Posted: September 7, 2014

My alma mater really shaped me for the workforce. Better than my four years at UNCC did. It was great to attend such a small, productive school.

Posted: June 16, 2014

Croatan High School is an excellent school. My grandson, who will be a Junior when classes resume in August, 2014, is doing quite well academically and loves the social fit. Teachers, for the most part, are compassionate and quite versed on the subjects they teach.

Posted: May 21, 2014

I moved my family here so that my son could attend Croatan High School and I am so glad we made the move! In his previous schools , the focus was always on test scores and learning how to pass the test....this caused more anxiety and frustration for both the student and parents...the schools failed because they didn't teach the actual content of the course..just how to pass tests. At Croatan, the students are actually learning more, embracing the challenges to become successful and being prepared to move onto post secondary education. The teachers are awesome, with your child's best interest in mind at all times...And they care about their students. This isn't a school for kids that don't want to succeed....nor is bad behavior tolerated....that's what makes this school great! I highly recommend this school and it's faculty in preparation for your child's success in college and beyond. My son now enjoys going to school and his grades....best I've ever seen. Best decision I have ever made....just wish I had done this sooner!

Posted: March 26, 2014

We are a military family and moved to this area because we heard that Croatan was a great high school. We figured out that the school has a gigantic drug problem. We pulled our daughter out and could never reccomend this school to anyone. Hope they can get it under control.

Posted: February 4, 2014

We are military who have moved into the area. We did our research and thought Croatan was the best school for our kids. Within a day, we knew things weren't right. This school needs to crack down on the amount of drugs the students use. We pulled our kids out to private schools and it was the best decision we have made. My advice to military families, do not send your kids here. You would be better off with private schools or west or east carteret.

Posted: December 15, 2013

To make this short and sweet, the teachers and Mr. Poletti were outstanding yet my daughter had one of her worst high school experiences here. The school has a drug problem with the student body. We enjoyed the academics yet seemed overwhelmed because homework seemed like busy work. My daughter was in honor's classes and made the honor roll. We were fortunate enough to get orders (out of this area!) to move due to being in the military and I would not ever think about sending my daughter here again. We moved from Onslow to Carteret just for this school but it disappointed us and I would not recommend any military family to do what we did. We are invested in our child's education and expect her to maximize her potential as she did at Croatan yet was let down by guidance and the student body. We are not slackers and she was not a troublemaker. The school just needs to get law enforcement involved with the drug problem. My daughter learned a good amount of "lingo" thanks in part to this school. I was very overwhelmed with this since she came from a local private NC school which is no comparison to Croatan. Try West Carteret, Swansboro High, or White Oak.

Posted: December 12, 2013

I went to Croatan for one semester. I was also new to the area due to my father retiring from the Army. My experience at Croatan has been an disaster. The students have no morals, they have no respect for leadership or teachers, and lastly the teachers were uncaring and rude. If you are ever new to this area, I strongly recommend not going to Croatan. The staff and students are very biased and if you are new, you are an outsider. I also feel that people here are very unwelcoming and cold to new people. I am so glad that I am no longer at Croatan, the environment is very cold, unwelcoming, and very unmoral. I would not recommend this school to anyone with common sense. True Croatan has great test scores but the students are forced abnormally hard just so Croatan can get its federal money.

Posted: November 5, 2013

Joe Poletti is a terrible principal!! The teachers here are good but the principal is unfair and has terrible leadership!!

Posted: November 5, 2013

Croatan isn't about its students all they worry about is money and high test scores to get more money. I cant tell you how many document i had to take home for my parents to sign so they get more federal money and if i didn't they would threaten to send me to ALC even if i dont have a pencil its automatic ALC or how about putting your head down for about 30 seconds; your gone and the funny thing is its a high school do you really think student can go to work get all their homework done and their chores at home before they can go to bed at a reasonable time NOOO! you need to work out a lot of problems starting with whos in charge!

Posted: February 17, 2013

High school used to be fun. I recently transfered to this school and I do not reccomend it at all. The staff is terrible. They do not care at all. Croatan is on a block schedule, four 90 minute classes. Before going here, I was on a traditional schedule which allowed me to take 7 classes. They believe that the block schedule is wonderful when really, it isn't. I had taken geometry and biology at my previous school and upon switching here, I was not allowed to take either of those classes. I had to wait until next semester. No problem, right? Well my first semester consited of me sitting on a computer for 3 of 4 class periods, completing online versions of health and world geography. Second semester comes around and I start all honors classes. To me, honors geometry wasn't very easy and the teacher was absolutely terrible. I had switched to a normal version. 3 weeks into the new semester, I find out that I will not be credited for this class at all. I will be forced to either take an elective, and the electives here are terrible as well, or go back to a class where learning will be too hard. I do not reccomend this school. The principal favors specific people, mainly star athletes.

Posted: August 10, 2012

This is an exceptional high school! We are a military family and based the community in which we would live on the high school our children would attend. While I agree that the administration can sometimes be rigid, I also understand that this is the very reason that the students here are so successful. In the last 5 years I have never heard of a students's name being read on the announcements because he didn't do his homework. My child, who is well disciplined and a hard worker, has received a "0" for leaving her completed homework in her locker and not having it with her in class. While it was difficult to watch my child's grade suffer, she learned a larger life lesson, and with hard work she was able to recover her good grade in the class. The new principal at Croatan is carrying on the tradition of expecting more of our children than the culture does. Most specifically, I have seen him crack down on the dress code. Again, my daughter thinks he is being unreasonable, but I openly applaud his efforts. People who complain about this school obviously want the excellent results without the hard work.

Posted: February 20, 2012

This is a first class school. Absolutely love this school for my children. I am glad it is school is run with discipline. If your children is abiding by the rules, they will have no problems here. Great atmosphere for learning, and the students don't walk around with their pants hanging off their butt.