I think that we definitely need to push for more AP classes. When I attended school in the Leander School District, I felt that it was far behind on the number of AP classes I could take as a junior. The same was true with the pre-IB and IB program. I like the site, but what needs to be done next is to get the word out into the district. Flyers about the web site for parents to see and to direct their kids in the right direction would be great. 

--Vince, LISD graduate

Although I was in the Math/Science Academy, I feel that it didn’t benefit me in any way as far as study loads are concerned. As a college student, I had to quickly adjust to the amount of reading and time spent on homework - in college, rarely is there such a thing as a 'blow-off class'. Furthermore, as far as MSA goes, I realized too late that I should have enrolled in. Honors instead - less work and equally good if not better teachers.

English is also a subject that needs some work - I was in Honors English, and STILL didn't read nearly as much as I do now in college. I can't even imagine what the normal English classes had to read. Some exploration into different writing styles would have been nice, too - I was completely bewildered when I had to take my first writing and Composition class, and learned that I would be writing papers OTHER than persuasive essays.
Finally, someone needs to reconsider the curriculum - is Future Careers REALLY a necessary class? And if it IS, LHS should hire a teacher that will actually TEACH something, rather than sit around and tell jokes with the students. What a waste of one of my credits! (And even if Future Careers is no longer mandatory - are the courses that ARE required and of this nature really necessary?)

--Ariana, LISD graduate

My AP classes helped to prepare me for the more difficult level of college courses.  However, I felt very unprepared for the fast pace of college courses.  I have also found that the majority of college "core" courses, especially history, is based more in ideology and less on memorization of dates and names as my LHS courses were.  The biggest difficulty I faced my first year of college was my lack of study skills.  Most of my classes in high school were so easy and undemanding that I never had to learn to use good skills for note-taking and studying in order to get good grades.  I graduated in 1996, and am a junior at the UT business school.  I think that high schools could help their students to prepare for college by making available classes that are taught in a similar format as college classes, so that students can get a feel for the type of preparations they have to make to do well in college, and learn the ways to study that helps each individual student the most.

--Nicole, 1996 LISD graduate  

Leander needs to spend more time on teaching students on how to be on your own.  Although I feel like I breezed through High school and never "applied myself", I feel like you have to be more responsible in college. You can't "bargain" your grades anymore. I also think our focus on athletics and other fine arts departments was pitiful.  Nobody cared about team support, cooperation, and spirit.  I think these things are vital in life and necessary to be successful in college. Spirit and unit are the two biggest aspects in college life now. I now here stories about how other high schools had this or that and homecoming was the biggest event and pep rallies were the coolest thing, and all the traditions and fun they had with there school. Whatever happened to that at Leander.  I graduated in '99, never attended homecoming, because nobody cared about it.  I was in the band and we were lucky to get 50 people to attend a pep rally (out of our school of over 2000 students). We never accomplished anything as far as sports because we didn't have the desire to.  I know many people sat "but you go to school to get an education", well what about making friends at the football game, getting along with each other at pep rallies and supporting your friends, getting together a bunch of friends for the volleyball game across town.  Or what about getting to know your classmates at social functions.  I don't remember taking that government class of Mrs. Hale, but I will always remember going to football games with maybe 100 students there.  

It was pitiful, and I was ashamed.  Now in college at Texas Tech, I don't remembered anything about that Business Calculus class, but I sure as hell remember the fun of attending bonfires and homecoming parades.

Yes, academics are the reason we go to school, but I also agree that life's lessons will be and our own personality has to be taught and that can not be taught in the classroom, but it is still the responsibility of the school.  I also believe that many students are lost and confused.

-- Seiler, 1999 LISD graduate  

Leander did a fine job of teaching high school. It was not a preparatory school. Leander's job wasn't to send you to college, that's up to the student. The career passport, I think, is a good idea if you could just get others schools to implement the same policies because I don't think future employers are too impressed with a "passport" that they know nothing about. On a whole, Leander did its job, and though I understand that we are all trying to send everybody to college, we must be real and understand that for some, that's as far as they'll go. Get the degree at college, don't expect it from your high school.

-- Levi, LISD graduate  

I feel that I did not have the math or science preparation that I needed for college.  I am an engineering major, but even the most demanding LISD courses can not prepare a student for technical majors.  Most other districts have that ability.  Otherwise, I felt the "passports" program gave me an edge in many technical electives I've taken so far at UT.  The engineering passport is outdated, though, and leads me to wonder if others could use revision as well.

-- Nick, LISD graduate  

I believe that the AP classes should not replace the old honors classes, because they serve a separate purpose.  All students should have the opportunity to take AP classes, as they were intended.  Concentrating the learning of a class around passing a test does nothing to foster real learning in students. Therefore, while some, if not most, students are able to pass out of classes in college, they are less prepared for the ones still required of them. Should still be used by the school to further the educational experience of students who have higher levels of understanding than most and therefore require a more challenging atmosphere.  

College is not easy, and high school did little to nothing in preparing me for it.  However, the honors classes I was involved in were by far the most helpful, in retrospect, in the adjustment. The higher expectations of an honors class mimic, no matter of crudely, the expectations of college.

Apart from the upper level classes that should be reviewed, the system as a whole should be carefully looked at from within.  Teachers should make more of an effort to teach, not recite.  As difficult as college may be, I have had only one professor in my four semesters who just lectured.  Most teaching happens when the teacher applies the information in ways which relate to the students.  This is much harder on the teacher, but will allow the students to learn more.  In time this should help Leander have more college bound seniors, and less people going to community college for a year or two and going into the workforce with a meaningless education.  While I will not pretend that high school gave me the tools to succeed, Leander does do some things right.  The teachers tried to build relationships with their students.  Fostering this from
the earliest years of high school would allow the students to care more about the teachers who teach them, and class participation would certainly improve.  If a student, anywhere, cares not for those who teach them, then there is no logical reason for them to try.  This is quite possibly
the biggest problem at Leander High school.  I fervently believe that it is the job of the educators to excite the students about learning.
    I know not if he is still there, but the physics teacher did a wonderful job of getting the students involved.  Many seniors would take the class because all before had said that it was easy.  I feel that the class was probably a lot harder than people thought.  However, the high level of instruction given made the tests seem much easier.  Activism such as this on the part of the teachers would certainly have a profound effect on the future of the high school.
    There is only one more thing that I feel might help.  I noticed throughout high school that the students who were themselves the most active, were involved in clubs, sports, theater, and band seemed to have the highest grades and were more likely to go to college; this trend held true
through all socio-economic levels.  A more inclusionary effort by those groups, led by the school itself, to introduce more people to membership could help in developing the kind of discipline necessary when trying to obtain good grades and going on to college.  I feel that being involved in many programs in high school helped me more in adjusting to college than anything else. I hope my insight may be of service to Leander High School.
 
    Leander needs to become more computer based in both teaching and in student resources.  As a college student the most accessible form of information is on the Internet.  I see students every day who don't know how to email or log onto the Internet.  Leander High School could prevent this from happening to students by providing more computer required courses and by setting a computer literacy standard.

--Jeremy, LISD 1999 graduate  

I was part of the MSA program. That had to be one of the best experiences I was in.  It challenged me and made me learn material that I was going to really need in college. When I took my chemistry class I remembered many of the things that Mr. Burrus had taught us. He really gave his students an opportunity to learn the material without worrying about grades, (a big motivation for me). I thought that I had received one of the best high school educations in the country.  I will admit that it wasn't easy, but it has made the transition to college a lot easier. Also being an engineering major, I found the programming, and drafting and AutoCAD classes really gave me an upper hand on many of the other students in my classes. Many students need to know that math, science, english, history and those classes are only the icing on the cake when it comes to all the information you need to be successful in college. The elective classes that deal with computers, ROPES, leadership, and problem solving are some of the best classes to have under your belt when you leave high school.  Also the other programs at LHS, such as choir, theater, etc., really add to my education experience by giving it an added cultural value. It is nice when in a random college class a prof mentions a period in something or  specific piece, that you understand what they are talking about and make some connections that other students can't.  As for improvements, one of my biggest complaints, is that in too many of the classes at LHS, teachers lower expectations of their students. Instead of giving students the tools to be really successful, (i.e. study tools, memorization tools, stress management, time management, etc.), many teachers just expect it to happen with any guidance or explanation.  when it comes down to it HS students are just glorified kids.  We didn't have any experience, we were too young.   I wish that instead of giving us busy work, I wish that they could have taught us something useful.  

--Raymond, LISD graduate  

I agree that college classes are much more difficult and require significantly more time than high school MSA classes, but I think that MSA and honors classes did an excellent job of preparing me. College classes are harder because IT'S COLLEGE! Really! Perhaps more emphasis should be put on those who never make it to college or who go to community college, then quit - why not survey them? People who are already in college are better off than 80% of the population, and probably don't have much room to complain about their academic opportunities.

--Sarah, LISD graduate  

The only helpful academic class I really took at Leander High was Honors English IV.  The rest, even the honors classes, in no way came close to preparing you for college classes.  In addition there was very little classes that were not very easy or too time consuming for people very much involved in after school activities.  I flew through very easy classes, because I did not have time for MSA.

--Lindsey, LISD graduate