Shaker High School, Latham | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

All you will hear about Shaker High School, and the North Colonie School District for that matter, is going to be unicorns and rainbows. However, I want to offer the people viewing this on Google Reviews a different perspective. While the academics, resources, clubs and diversity are fine, this school has many problems. The biggest by far is the incompetent administration and staff. They have no respect for the parents, the taxpayers and most importantly, the students. Shaker tries to mold its students into something they want, when the student should be learning and becoming the person THEY WANT to be. My next issue with this school, believe it or not, is safety. I have witnessed and heard legitimate threats made in this school, and it concerns me that guidance in particular, does NOTHING about it. Yet when some poor student is sitting in the hall alone, or when a student accidentally takes another student’s jacket (both of these are examples which I have seen happen), they will completely flip out. This school is policed to death with annoying and aggressive hall monitors. Some of the teachers there have absolutely no concept of teaching; especially the ones in the poorly managed Art Department. These people make ginormous salaries–I bet some have 6 digits in their salary. They ought to earn that salary by inspiring their students, giving them an open mind and being available as a resource. This school really needs to set its priorities straight. Stop policing the innocent students and do something about the real people that cause problems. Stop giving out countless detentions and suspensions for the tiniest and most trivial things. Stop treating your students like idiots while trying to turn them into close minded, butt-hurt liberals. Take threats seriously and always put your students’ SAFETY first. Give them a reason to want to go to school. If Shaker could set its priorities straight, the culture of it wouldn’t be so “douchey” I am sick of seeing this school praised for being one of the best schools in the USA. That’s bullsh*t.

Honestly I had the worst high school experience because of the terrible faculty. I had so many problems with threats from another student, art teachers denying me my full potential and discouraging me, and my “hall principal” didn’t help me at all. Why are they even there, honestly? To shut the school down for hours because a cardboard box with some pamphlets inside was at the main entrance and call it a bomb threat? Yet I get death threats (over text- there was solid proof) from another student and I’m told “well I don’t think he’d actually do anything” by a principal. He didn’t even get a talking to. NOTHING happened to him.
They’re too scared to actually take any action when a student really needs help. They’re more worried about what’s best for their reputation than what is best for the students.
I have had a few amazing teachers, and my guidance counselor was great, but the hall principal and psychologists there were virtually useless.
If you aren’t an athlete or in any sort of club, you have no place in this school. I felt that way my entire time there.
I couldn’t wait to get to high school, and I even started a count down in 7th grade to my first day of high school. Now I’m so glad to be gone.

I graduated from Shaker in 1998. I will always treasure my time at Shaker and the school staff was great and taught me well. I would gladly tell anyone to go to Shaker. It was a great learning experience for me. Go Bisons