Westlake High School

This is a great school, my daughter is so happy here and has met wonderful friends who are good kids. She has friends in the sport programs, which I have met and they and lovely individuals. I have not heard of any drugs issues, athletic issues, it is clean, drug free and well protected. The teachers are well educated and take pride in their teaching. The community backs the school 100% which is a blessing. My daughter is surrounded by smart kids who are being raised right, she is receiving the best education possible (without metal detectors.) The campus is beautiful and clean. I high recommend Westlake Village High!

Ouch! Angry crowd here. While many of the complaints are likely true (softball coach, football player… And even more not listed here) I am only going to comment on our personal experience.
My daughter is taking CP, Honors, and AP classes, along with being involved in Varsity sports. Her classes have been challenging for the most part and her teachers top notch. I have zero complaints regarding the academic aspects of the school, and quite the contrary I applaud them. My daughter’s teachers want her to succeed and are available before and after class for consultations. Her coach is fantastic as well. She has never had any hazing or harassment issues whatsoever.
The front office staff has been nothing but kind and helpful, especially Kathy. Every question was met with courtesy and answed in a timely manner. The Counseling dept is pretty good. Truthfully, my daughter works more closely with her counselor than I do. However, it appears she is on the right path to acceptance into a UC school.
I’ve heard all the stories of pretentiousness and quite frankly, it almost dissuaded me from sending my daughter here. However, there are many sub-​cultures here. I can not lie, pretentious does exist, but in short supply. The majority are just regular everyday kids, struggling with everyday regular problems, looking for their place in the world. And WHS pretty much (as much as any school could) offers a safe and open environment for my daughter to find that place.
Nothing is perfect. Our job as parents is to help guide our kids and teach them right from wrong. And I’ve found WHS is the perfect adjunct to this lesson in life.
Great school, safe environment, police on staff, canine dogs that sniff for drugs, and administration that is effective.
Note: The new principal is starting 2015 – 2016. He overhauled Los Cerritos Middle School and will be a great addition to WHS. My son flourished @ LCMS under his «rule».

The band dept is fabulous. Mr. Peter and G are the best out there!!! Fabulous school, 2 children attended, one is now a college professor, one a musician. We had a wonderful caring staff at WHS. There are good and bad students and coaches in every school out there. The good students who don’t use drugs or have sex have good parents. I blame only the parents and that one immoral coach.
I was so disgusted with several football and water polo parents that allowed their children to use drugs and wreck their own lives and the lives of people they come across. Man up parents!!! THIS WAS A GREAT SCHOOL, NOW AFTER LIPTARI IT SUCKS!!! However, I think it is due to the drugged out emotionless Mothers, and Dads who don’t care if there kids are kind or sympathetic human beings. The parents will not man up and so I think unless you want your kids here for the band or sciences forget this school!!!

I used to go to this school until mid-​junior year. I dropped out and took my GED test, went to community college, and am now at UCSD studying engineering. My one regret is not dropping out sooner. I was fed up with the staff, the students, and almost every social aspect of this school. The counselors and paper pushers are incompetent and rude. Years after leaving I had to pick up my transcript and still the adult trolls behind their desks sat watching and sneering, gossiping about current students and parent drama.

I’m an alumni (class of 2011), so I figure that I ought to leave a review. As many locals know, the school carries a «snobbish» reputation. While this is somewhat true compared to the other local high schools, I personally perceived the general student population to be friendly and open-​minded. I made friends with people from various backgrounds, cultures, religions, etc. even though I considered myself to be a «nerd.»
The teachers are all great, and I always enjoyed learning in my classes. Even though the school lacks IB classes, there are plenty of honors and AP courses offered. I highly recommend students to take them if possible; not only will they enrich your high school education, but they also help you get ready for college (especially the AP classes). There is also a nice variety of extracurricular activities (band, orchestra, choir, clubs, sports, etc.), so definitely be sure to get involved during your time at Westlake!
Overall, I really enjoyed being a student here, and while the typical woes of high school are present, being involved in extracurricular activities, having a group of supportive friends, and working hard in school easily make them easier to deal with.
P.S Be sure to utilize the college and career center as much as possible. Looking back, I wish I had used their services more; otherwise, the college application process would have been much less stressful!

my son goes there and he really enjoys it, he has Mrs Bowman for a class and thinks very highly of her… Ive met her at school and once at a restaurant, she seems like a crazy fun teacher, I would to switch places with my son just to have her for class… the things he’s learning and what they do is so fascinating, she really loves teaching and it shows, I feel bad for the students when if and when she retires… shes just awesome.
other than that it’s a great school

This school is great. Very spread out on a hillside so there is a lot of walking. Front office staff is very nice. Teachers for the most part have been really good. And coaches are all seriously dedicated. WL has the reputation as being snobby but it’s not. Parents & students are the same here as anywhere else. You can always find the good & the bad. Overall great school.