Sickles High School in Clearwater, Florida

“Principal does not support quality electives; wants everyone to take AP classes, even if they get C/D/F and are not AP material.”
This review was posted by a teacher.

“Good leadership from Princial, very action and result oriented. overall quality staff!”
This review was posted by a parent.

“I love Sickles and think it has some of the very best teachers around. They genuinely care about the students and try to make class interesting. They go out of their way to help and accomodate the students from what I have seen. The administration on the other hand is another story. I think it trickles down from the top. I think the principal is arrogant and doesn't care much about helping the students. I've never seen someone in his position be as cut and dry and cold as he is. Too bad as that is the only flaw I see with the school. Luckily-the teachers make up for his shortcomings.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“Parents dont listen to any of the stupid complaints about sickles, I have just completed my freshmen year there and I loved it!!! Although many of our core students are leaving in the fall to go to steinbrenner im sure we will still be a top rated school and i look forward to my next 3 years as a gryphon. Sickles has many great programs to offer such our buisness and technololgy department. I was in web design 1 this year and I thought it was great, the teachers are amazing and I would definitly recomend going to this school. steinbreener is going to be very under developed in areas such as R.O.T.C (they wont even have one) which I will be joining in the fall. I give Sickles a ten out of ten and you should definitly send your kids there.”
This review was posted by a student.

“I absolutley love this school!!! This school, I believe, has one of the best orchestra programs. The teacher is fun, respectable, and strict, she pushes the students to excell in music. The admin is eh. Let's just say they could do a little better, But I'm sure next year is going to change. I really do love this school. There is plenty of school spirit and the teachers really care. Have your kids go to Sickles. They won't regret it.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“This school is fake! When I attended it I thought I was achieving high scores because I was smart. Guessed wrong! I moved to a new school in Pasco and the curriculum was so much more challanging than at Sickles. I have learned alot more at my new school then at Sickles and I believe that the crazy GPA's are so stupid and that they don't and shouldn't count. Especially the AP and Honors classes those classes arn't even that hard the AP and honors classes in Pasco are so much harder than those of Hillsborough. This is my opinion and I know most of you all think too highly of Sickles but if you just had the oppertunity that I had you would have changed yours too!”
This review was posted by a student.

“As my final year at sickles winds down, I have to say it is a great school. Sure the Ap's are pains, but our principal is a great leader and has made this school better than before. Our teachers want us to succeed no matter if you do go to college or not. They help us every five days. this is why our school is ' A '. Also, we have good sport programs and great music programs”
This review was posted by a student.

“I'm proud to be a student of Sickles, despite some minor administration issues. The principal is a good guy who cares about the students, most of the teachers take a geniune interest in education, and the scores are phenomenal. Good luck finding a better school in Tampa!”
This review was posted by a student.

“Sickles admin and teachers are overwhelmed with managing the functions and activities of the school. Talented smart kids with tremendous potential are being overlooked, underserviced and dismissed by Sickles judgements. This takes place year after year child after child being shortchanged by lack of effectiveness of the guidance counselors. Most teachers are just there as a job, and lack of genuine awareness and absoulete arrogance based on misinformation is exuded by Principal Russell. If your child & you as a parent can do everything for your child in monitoring all aspects of school work. Then monitor all necessary especially academic requirements to get to college....go to sickles...if not research other schools. You will be very pleasantly surprised at to the information, direction and support you will receive . You kids are worth more!”
This review was posted by a parent.

“Sickles is a achool that I am proud to attend. It not only excells in many of it's arts and athletics programs, but it offers the top AP classes with excellent teachers.”
This review was posted by a student.

“I have been a proud Sickles parent for the past 6 years. Have one child in her second year of pre med I have two other children that atten Sickles, one a rising senior the other a rising junior. Sickles is a very big school the children are held accountable for their own success. They are given the resources and they are provided the tools to succeed. I find the faculty, staff and administration excellent.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“The Teachers at Sickles High are excellent.The administration is not so great.The time my mother went up to the office she got a lot of sour attitude.”
This review was posted by a student.

“I attended Sickles for all four years of my high school career, it needs better administration. ive never been let down as much as i have been with the administration from 05-06 to 07-08. ive lost scholarships because the principal has lost my paperwork...twice. they painted over the arts mural, after the principal promised. i believe that sports are a priority to this administration, no other extra curricular activities are in the spot light here, they are all pushed into the shadows. But....the teachers are wonderful. they put the students before everything. wonderfull teachers, terrible administration.”
This review was posted by a student.

“Being fairly new to the area, I guess I have been 'waiting and hoping' for Sickles to improve. I am becoming so discouraged with the quality, involvement (staff) and especially the safety of the students.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“Sickles was a big disappointment as a high school. I believe the problem is administration. Better leadership is needed.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“I graduated from Sickles in 2005. While I was there it was a good school with decent academics. If you took higher level courses such as AP classes those were the teachers that invested an interest for the most part. I think that since the new principal has come the school has become worse. They are not personable and it takes a lot to get them to talk to you.”
This review was posted by a former student.

“This school may have high academic scoring, but that's all that is good about this school. Other than that, the administrators are absolutely careless. The principal looks friendly, but down on the inside it takes a whole lot for him to express whether or not he'll come see the school play. Literally. The teachers are strict, and that's good.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“I graduated from Sickles May 2006. Like all schools, there are classes that are rigorous with teachers that are involved, and then there are some classes that need to be tossed. The new principal means well, but isn't doing a very good job. There is not nearly enough support for the music departments other than Band. The chorus and orchestra haven't been in the yearbook in years, yet there are three pages for band. The only sports team ever recognized with more than a passing word on morning announcements is the football team (not going into the issue that they were barely worth mentioning against some championship winning teams, such as volleyball or the swim team). There's definitely room for improvement throughout the school. Too little support from administration- don't expect responses. It even took me four tries and countless calls before the guidance office finally sent my transcripts to colleges.”
This review was posted by a former student.

“This school could be so much more. It would help if they had more experienced leadership. The principal means well, but fails to make sound decisions regarding the direction this school should take.”
This review was posted by a teacher.

“Sickles is too big and too chaotic for its students. Teachers are overwhelmed and very little true learning takes place. Drilling for tests consumes the curriculum and most good dtudent leave and attend private schools. It is not a good learning environment.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“I truly enjoy coming to the Chorus Concerts given by Stephen Barr and his students. I can tell that Mr. Barr loves music and wants to share his knowledge with his students. Also, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss how poorly funded the arts are in this day and age at Sickles High School. There should be more focus on the arts, not sports.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“The schools is great and has a lot to offer academically.”
This review was posted by a teacher.

“The academic programs are moderate. The availabitity of art and sports activities is excellent. There is also opportunities for parent involvement.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“Sickles is a good school with many excellent teachers. However, like most public schools, there are a few teachers who aren't very good at communication. The principal is new. He seems pretty good, but it's too early to tell. My girls say, 'He's 'too strict!' Good availability of extracurricular activities. Lots of school spirit. Plenty of parent involvement.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“Sickles High School is one of the most recognized schools for parental invovlement, it has won numerous awards from the national PTA. The level of academic programs is varied and includes honors, advanced and AP classes. There are numerous extracurricular activities and I can say that the Band receives a good amount of support from the administration at the school in comparison to other schools in the district. The two of my sons who have attended this shcool have both loved their time and experiences at Sickles and my next son can choose to go to another school but wouldn't even consider going anywhere other than Sickles.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“I think it was alright and they have raised there grade level to an 'A' so that's always good.”
This review was posted by a former student.

“Sickles is a high quality school. The academics are quite rigorous, and the teahcers there are always willing to go the extra mile to help the kids learn.”
This review was posted by a teacher.

“This is an excellent school for music and music education. Also an excellent school for disabilities, and honors/ap courses. Safety is the #1 concern of the staff.”
This review was posted by a student.