Research Capital High School Public Schools in Santa Fe, New Mexico

“As a former student of Capital High School, I can honestly say that I was given the opportunities I needed to receive a good education and prepare myself for college. I was a classified 'gifted' student, and my teachers for all four years of my education worked closely with me to excel in my classes without becoming bored. I learned to be hard-working, self-motivated and willing to help my peers. All in all, I had a great experience there.”

“I have two children attending Capital and they are both doing very well. They are involved in extra curricular activities and have teachers who care and encourage and challenge them to do their best. I am saddened by the lack of parent and community support. The low numbers of parents attending their own child's sporting events is quite saddening. Our kids are working very hard to create a future for themselves and we should be there every step of the way to witness and share their wins and losses.”

“I just read the Sept 2003 parent letter complaining about the education her daughter received at Capital HS. I agree with the students who wrote that perhaps the daughter should have taken more challenging courses, and I wonder at the parent's lack of correct spelling - its instead of it's for 'it is,' CapitOl instead of CapitAl, etc. Education begins at home.”

“I am currently a student at Capital. It is my second year there and I really do love it. It is true that there are some gang activities and a few fights, but that is not the only thing that is going on there. There are teachers that care and try to get the students motivated. There are AP classes and many activities that you can take part in if you try. Capital has come a long way in the past few years. The basketball team is one of the best in New Mexico, along with their Drama department which has won first in state for the second year running. Your education is what you make of it, the school can only take you so far. If you do not want to learn, then it does not matter what school you go to. They will all be worthless.”

“As a 2002 graduate of Capital High School I have to say that I am very grateful for the education I received there. I am an education major myself and now I see more than ever that a school can be on the south side of town, with little money and many criticisms but that doesn't mean students received a bad education. While there are teachers that don't encourage learning, they are very few. 98% of the teachers who teach at CHS go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure their students can excell. I know many of my peers that would not even have gone to college or even graduated if it wasn't for the teachers. Those who have criticisms are often those who have never watched or been in a classroom to watch these teachers in action. I'm very proud to say I'm a CHS graduate.”

“I was a student at Capital for four years and graduated in 2003. I would have to say that a lot of the bad things said about Capital is true, or was at least up until I graduated two years ago. However, part of it is the students fault (I know I could have taken harder classes). There also are very good teachers at Capital including those in the northeast part of the building especially the technology department and English department teachers. Then there are the ones there just to get paid. There were trouble makers but 'gangs' never ruled that school. Overall I would say it's a pretty good school, and I have a great amount of pride for Capital.”

“I went to this school for my first year in high school. Most of the students who attend here are in some type of gang. The teachers are very unskilled,and i wasn't challenged at all. When I went to SFHS(Santa Fe High School) there was a hudge difference, teachers were better equalified to teach, more extra activities, and the AP are more challenging, though it too has quirks.”

“As a 2000 graduate of Capital High I would have to say That overall I really enjoyed my time at Capital and feel that I was challenged on a regular basis. After graduation I was accepted to Nebraska Wesleyan, which is the top Liberal Arts University in Nebraska. I went on to graduate in May of 2004 and was selected To Who's Who and National Deans List. I could not have done this without those teachers at Capital who showed me I could succeed. I would blame the majority of the schools problems on some, not all, of the parents. They are the ones that have the biggest impact on there children, and if they do not show an interest in there child and and there education then they are not going to succeed. Overall I would say that Capital is a great school.”

“I am a Senior at Capital High and I love this place. Granted I am more than ready to graduate and be done, I consider CHS a second home. The teachers, administrators, and counselors are great. Sept 03, perhaps you should consider the possibility that your daughters poor scores are her own fault! If there is one thing I can say for sure is wrong with CHS is the lack of parent involvement and continuous negative feedback from people such as yourself. I only have a few comments for anyone with something negative to say about CHS. Could you do better, or what can we do to fix it? Rather than focusing on bashing my school, give suggestions!”

“If you can, do not send your child to this school. Gangs rule this school and teachers are here only to get paid. The academic level is horrible and no one wants our children to succeed. The kids have to fight hard to be challenged and we, the students, live up to our bad name. They never get our parents involved!”

“Being at this school for over 3 years and this being my last year at Capital High I say that this school is different from other Santa Fe Public High Schools in a way that it has a clean environment and the students are trying their best to make this school number one among the state. I personaly love this school, I've never felt threatened by anybody and had many experiences joining sports and other activities. Things have changed and the only thing that keeps this school as how the parent mentioned are those few students who don't care. I doubt that there aren't other schools with this same situation.”

“I believe CHS is a really awesome school, especially for being a public school. I am a senior at Capital and I know first-hand that this school is a very good school. CHS is doing it's best to keep up with private schools, especially with it's low funding. If the parent [that] feels her daughter isn't challenged, maybe she should put her in the gifted program and the AP classes. I'm sure if she put the effort to tell a counselor, someone could solve this.”

“First off, in response to the parent complaining about Capital High, the public school system would be much better if people would put money into them instead of dumping it into private tuition. A student must have the desire to learn, they cannot be force fed knowledge, maybe you as a parent are to blame for your daughter s poor SAT score. The problem with society is that know body is willing to take blame, if you saw that your daughter was not being challenged, you should have placed her in the gifted program. Or maybe taken control of her education, and challenged her yourself. CHS is a great school for a child willing to learn. The teachers are great, and as for technology, it is very hard to fix a problem if you can't afford an expert. CHS graduate - PhD in EE from MIT, scored below avg on SAT!”

“I'm a student at Capital High! I beg to differ on the review made in September 03. Computer problems always happen no matter what school you're at! I'm in the gifted program and for my first semester I was challenged and I had hours of homework! I had pre AP classes! You can't compare your daughter's first round SAT scores on the school because your daughter chooses their classes. !Unlike santa Fe High, Capital has grasped the idea of academies and is offering a freshman academy, Information technology, Media Arts Acedamies, And Professional arts academies. They are planning many more to come. Capital has many cool things offered that no one knows about! The Teachers are there to teach and that is what they do. The students who want to learn do.”

“Santa Fe County is home to one of the worst school systems in the nation, and Capitol High is doing its part to maintain this distinction. My daughter attended a private school from grade 7 until the second semester of her sophmore year, when she transferred to Capitol. At private school she worked 1-4 hours each night on homework and maintained a B average. At Capitol, she has had practiacally no homework, and has received straight A's. However, she scored below the national average on her first round of SAT's. Capitol's administration seems disorganized, and its disipline lax. Standards are low and bright students are not challenged unless they are able to get into the few AP or Honors classes. Kids are often given points for showing up in class or turning in an assignment, regardless of the quality of the work. This year classes were a week late getting started due to computer problems, and the school is still plagued by electrical outages. Kids pull the fire alarms almost daily, and the alarms are ignored by the staff unless the principal announces on the PA that the alarm is a true fire drill, or, one would suppose, an actual fire. Even though this situation unsafe and illegal, nothing is being done to correct it. Overall, Capitol High is one of the worst schools around. Unfortunately, Santa Fe High, the only other public alternative, is reportedly not much better.”