Bishop Gorman High School

This is a tough review; Having had a kid go through 4 years here I have some thoughts. Discipline seems to be an obsession here. I read the un-​recommended review and I agree with that portion of the review. Kids get called into the office and are manipulated, threatened and encouraged to rat on friends. Phones are taken away and searched, Twitter is stalked Instagram is watched like a hawk. The «random» drug tests are NOT random. The kids whose parents contribute $$ are never tested. The kids are very aware that the kids whose parents contribute are treated differently. But like I told my kid; with money comes power, welcome to the real word! My kid had a teacher who was horrible, she had a lot of personal issues which adversely effected her teaching thus hurting the students. Several parents complained and moved their kids out of the class yet the teacher is still there. That’s the worst part or public schools, bad teachers stay. When I’m paying, I don’t want to pay for my kid to be taught by subpar teachers.
Now the positive and the positive certainly out weighs the negative. When you visit this school you feel the magic of Gorman. The campus is jaw-​dropping. The kids open doors for you, they look you in the eye and speak to you. The student body general character is such a cut above public school that for that reason alone, paying the tuition is a must. My kids friends are all amazing, intelligent kids whom have a bright future. Their is a school spirit here that is palatable. Their sports programs are untouchable. As far as the education they receive; the fact that 98% of kids go onto college says a lot. The SAT and ACT scores that my kid and all scores I’ve learned of are all way above average. But the big positive is; I’ve heard from countless recent alumni whom have gone away UCLA, UA, UCSD, UCB, LSU to name a few and they ALL have remarked on how well prepared they were for college and were dumbfounded at how advanced they were in comparison to their college peers.
So in conclusion, if my main complaints are that money talks and the discipline is sometimes excessive, than my kids 4 years there have been a success and the money spent on tuition is priceless. I’m sending my kid to a top college well-​prepared with academic scholarships and all the tools needed to be an adult with character and the tools to achieve. Thanks to us parents and Gorman.

I have two sons attending Bishop Gorman and my husband and I are very pleased. Both of our sons began attending this school since freshman year and currently, one is a senior the other a sophomore. The overall education and the personal attention my sons receive from their teachers and counselors has been excellent. They are in an environment where education and high achievement in every aspect of life is expected and they have responded well to it. In addition, the school stresses the importance of being a responsible citizen of the community and requires all students to volunteer in the community for at least 100 hours total during their high school years. These hours of volunteerism and compassion toward those not as fortunate have contributed in forming my sons’ character in a way that nothing else would. As a catholic family, I am happy that my sons are also learning about our religion. Overall, I am glad to have chosen Bishop Gorman High School for my sons as they are getting a quality education and have formed friendships that will last a lifetime.

*** This review is for the Jim 3 House of Performing Arts ***
I’ve been to Bishop Gorman several times to see shows in the Jim 3 House of performing Arts. The Jim 3 entrance is directly across from the stadium entrance. The performing arts center has both an auditorium for large productions and a smaller black box theatre.
The seating in the main theatre is classic high school auditorium. There is a proscenium stage and the seating is arranged in three sections, left, center, and right – standard seating for many theatres. Seating is comfortable. If I had any quibble with the auditorium it would be that I think the pitch of the seating should be a greater degree to ensure better viewing when you have a tall, big hair person, or inconsiderate jerk who sits there with a hat (oh there are more jerks than you think, male and female).
Last night, I attended a production of Stephen Sondheim’s «Into the Woods.» The lighting in the theatre was well designed. Most of it is above the first few rows in a ceiling area, and it’s very much out of the way and unseen. Sound in the theatre is great! Actors could be heard easily whether speaking in low volume or above.
I really like the theatre and hope to see many more productions here.