Verona Area High School

Location :

• Anynomous

  06 January 2018

  Thhis school is stank

• Anynomous

  16 December 2017

  Great schools. Caring and talented educators.

• Anynomous

  19 September 2017

  No human race is superior

• Anynomous

  03 May 2017

  My stepsisters are so stressed because of to much homework and I'm in middle school

• Anynomous

  26 February 2009

  I graduated in 2005, so some of the things might have changed. There are a few bad sides to this school, with which I will begin, but then I will talk about everything that I love about this school.
  
  The bad side: It is always overcrowded (currently 1500 students and growing!), there is seemingly never enough money and always some program losing funding. Student to teacher ratios are really high. I graduated and there were maybe 6 people in my graduating class that I had never even seen before. The campus is big, and it takes over 10 minutes to walk one end to the other, and there's only 7 minute passing times (so you run and you hold your pee!). Also, you're locker is never on the way to class so you end up carrying everything with you. Not to mention its famously high STD ratio (perhaps due to its abstinence-only health education philosophy)
  
  But there are so many good things that this school has to offer.
  
  It offers a wide array of AP and other challenging courses, as well as an eclectic selection of extra cirriculars such as guitar, cooking, and creative writing. The sports programs are excellent, the team atmosphere is fun, the equipment top-notch (for a HS) and the training is rigorous. The football team is either awesome or horrible (depending on the year), but the players are always having fun. The swimming team took first or second at state every year I went there. The cross country course is, in my opinion, the best in the region.
  
  The music/drama program is also excellent, offering orchestra, band, choir, jazz ensemble, and musicals/plays year round. Good school instruments, and a high quality performing arts center (largely funded by Verona's community theatre which does all its productions there). There are even more extra-curricular ensembles that meet almost every day in the morning before class. Going to a conservatory, I've heard of some much better HS music programs from around the US, but this department is still a force to be reckoned with.
  
  It is also ethnically and economically diverse, which I think is vital to nurture acceptance and understanding in all high schoolers of all types. Maybe once a year, a fight might break loose between a couple of people, and if you leave your backpack unattended, there is a good chance you'll lose your TI-83plus calculator (experience!), but that's just how life is, and I would still say this is a really safe school. I never felt in danger going here, you just keep your backpack with you and you don't pick a fight with someone who's bigger than you and you'll be fine.
  
  The people who work here are also amazing. I had so many wonderful teachers that made a huge impact on who I am today. I've visited a few of them and have lasting, meaningful relationships with them. I've always respected the principal, Pam Hammen so much. She's always been there for me. For ME. MY individual self needed help, and she reached out and helped me. She's down-to-earth and scrupulous. The administration staff has also been so kind and helpful. At my university, I've been frustrated with how cold and by-the-book the admin staff is here. I miss Verona High's charming, understanding office staff.
  
  All in all, I loved my four years at that school. Yeah, I was itching to leave, but that was mostly the excitement of going college. But it isn't the courses, the clubs, the sports, or the other various opportunities and facilities that made my four years there special. It was the people. I made so many meaningful connections with teachers, staff, coaches, and fellow students, I wouldn't trade that experience for any school higher ranked.