South High School

"This place was amazing have me a second home and most importantly allowed me to become a successful young adult"

"Great school environment with lots of potential just need parent involvement to become an amazing school!"

"I come from a privileged background. I live in the cozy suburbs in West Omaha. My family has never hurt for money. With that background, most would think I would go to Central, Burke, North, or one of the private schools. I could have. However, as a freshman walking into the door, I was automatically welcomed. The community has a genuine and friendly feel. I have never met a person I didn't get along with. This is in stark contrast to the preppy, pretentious and yuppie culture that permeates the places like North. In fact, such a culture does not exist at south. The school is staffed with a talented and experienced cast of primary academic teachers. Some noteworthy few would be Mrs. Hike, Mrs. Peterson, Mr. Hale, Mr. Benak, Ms. Shultz, Mr. Gutierrez, and many, many more. Not only that, but we can boast one of the finest theater programs in all of Omaha, and an overwhelming amount of artistic and technical talent from the local community. The teachers are in full support of their students, and thus if you want a good education it can be found at south. Granted, there isn't as much of a competitive feel like other schools (though I find that at the upper echelons of the academic community at south there is quite a bit of competition) but there is a very dedicated subset of students that are extremely gifted. This school is mostly Hispanic, as it is a very localized school. That doesn't mean it isn't diverse. There is a huge range of folk from all different walks of life. Many different languages can be heard in the hallways. Spanish, French, Napali, Mandarin and may more are spoken by the student body. There are people who enter south not knowing any English at all, and walk out ready to face college level classes. There are issues though. The school seems mostly abandoned by OPS at large. More funds obviously need to be diverted and more technical attention must be paid. As it stands, updates are rolled out on computer systems whether or not they will work for our decrepit systems. Most of the school lacks access to high powered computers, in fact. The walls, ceilings and floors have visible water damage. More plumbing had to be run, visible, on the stairwell, leaving an eyesore. There aren't enough people paying for lunch, leaving us with pig slop. The IT program is in total disarray and needs more money and resources to remain competitive. The school seems to have a conflict as to what it wants to be. On one hand, it wants to be a performing arts magnet, and on the other a technology magnet. Even though we are the technology magnet for OPS, we still don't get as many resources as North, who effortlessly gets the things they need. Due to the low suburban white population, the money following that group never makes it here, leaving clear evidence as to what happens to segregated schools. I actually want to go so far as to accuse OPS of blatant racism, whether intentional or not. In contrast, North attracts many white suburban kids. I don't think that is coincidence. If the magnet programs can be fixed (shout out to the efforts of both Mr. Hartman and Ms. Yager; we will be competitive eventually), and OPS can stop treating South like an unwanted and unloved pet, I think this school would rank as the best school in OPS due to its excellent teachers, academics, and culture."

"I went to this school for the presidential caucus and it seemed like a nice school!"

"as a student of this school i think it is amazing. while it may be a bit crowded in the hallways this school has for one an amazing set of library staff and no shortage of books. but it also has some of the best preforming arts classes and i say if you want to learn the arts of any kind you should come here. its reputation may be bad but it is the best school i have ever been to."