Dana Hills High School

Posted: December 7, 2025

TERRIBLE school. Graduated in 2024, and it’s felt like a blessing to be out of there. The teachers are 50/50, not saying there aren’t good teachers here, but the majority aren’t great. (Some GREAT teachers there include Mrs. Ralph (Spanish), Madame Breault (French), Mr. Rosa (Math) Mr. Tran (art), and the former teacher Mr. Forster (math)). But the environment of this school as a whole isn’t great. Lots of bullying issues, and the school will not help you with that. They ignore it and do nothing about it. I had a supervisor look under my stall once when I was using the bathroom, my mom almost sued her. Lots of d*ug issues as well. I had several kids die in my school from ods. It wasn’t uncommon which is so hard to say. I do not recommend sending your child to this school. My mom refuses to send any more of her children to this school.

Posted: December 7, 2025

Posted: December 7, 2025

Posted: December 7, 2025

Posted: December 7, 2025

Posted: December 7, 2025

Posted: December 7, 2025

Posted: December 7, 2025

Posted: February 20, 2022

Going to this school was hell on Earth. Glad I survived the elitist attitudes, exclusion of anyone different, extreme classism, and white dominated culture. Bullying is a major issue and drug abuse was a massive problem as well when I went here. Test scores are not everything. Culture matters, and the culture of this school was disturbing to endure.

Posted: February 20, 2022

Posted: September 19, 2020

Well-round school. Great academic. The teacher's and parents' relationship is unprecedented!

Posted: September 19, 2020

Posted: September 19, 2020

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Posted: September 19, 2020

Posted: October 27, 2017

Posted: October 27, 2017

Posted: October 27, 2017

Posted: October 27, 2017

Posted: October 27, 2017

Posted: October 27, 2017

Posted: October 27, 2017

In my honest opinion, this is the overall the worst high school I have ever encountered. 3000 students, and they have to share a tiny locker is the least of it. The bullying at this school is atrocious. Yes there is security and police on campus, but with that many kids, they can only do so much. The administration is a joke. The new principal does nothing for anybody! He is a bully! The district will be getting a very strong letter about him in due time. The homework at this school is absolutely ludicrous. Students go to school all day and have 4-5 hours of homework per night and on the weekends. God forbid they have a sport they are involved with. The kids at this school have a sense of being so elite that they treat others terribly. Why , because it's Dana Point? Seriously? This school thinks it has something to prove, yet they are stressing out the kids. The past principal was pretty good, but they indeed made a huge mistake with this new one. Dana Hills High School lacks compassion, integrity, positive leadership, and support. No wonder it is know for bullying and worse. The apple only falls so far.

Posted: September 25, 2017

Posted: September 25, 2017

Posted: September 25, 2017

Posted: September 25, 2017

Posted: September 25, 2017

Posted: September 25, 2017

Posted: September 25, 2017

We are in our 3rd year at Dana and I would not want my son anywhere else. This school is amazing! Read some of the negative prior reviews and realized that these are all older reviews before they had made administrative changes at Dana. We started at Dana in 2015 and have had nothing but healthy, positive relationships with both teachers and staff (counselors, principal, etc). Those reviews do not depict how Dana is today! Since we started here, each year my son has had amazing teachers and his counselor has been a huge blessing. All have cared so personally for his academic growth and well-being. They take time to meet with kids and parents and discuss their classes, grades, placement, etc. I/we have never once felt like a faculty member didn't care or brushed him off onto someone else. Every teacher has made themselves reachable and responds quickly. I interviewed several kids at Dana prior to going and could not believe that not one had a negative comment. They all said that Dana is a great school, the students are all very accepting of one another and there is no bullying. Compared to our terrible stint at San Clemente High, this was refreshing to hear. We have been in the Cross Country and Track programs for 3 years now and it is family to us! Coaches are great, athletes are the bet kids ever, and their families are so incredibly supportive. Some of the reviews boast about the location and yes, you certainly cannot beat the ocean breeze and ocean view from the upper lot but what it comes down to is level of education and I think that the stats above speaks mounds for how great Dana is, as well as how a school builds up, encourages, supports, and instills character in our kids - Dana does that! Every teacher and coach that we have had has shown great interest in teaching my son not only academics, but how all of this transitions into being an adult and how as adults we should act and treat others. Face it, there is a reason that most all Dana students stay life-long friends after high school!

Posted: May 11, 2015

I have had experiences with both Dana hills and Aliso Niguel high school. I was disappointed with Aliso HS & Avms, Dana is way better, I couldn't ask for a better high school than Dana hills. It has the best of everything, location, programs, advanced education, extra curricular activities, sports teams, staff, principle. And you can't beat the SOCSA program. My child has thoroughly enjoyed being part of SOCSA. The office manager is a lovely women. The campus although old, has had many upgrades and will have many more upgrades every year. The parents are extremely supportive and donate time and money for the school. The only things that could be improved are the large class sizes, some of the teachers have been there a while and can get burnt out and seem to take it out on the kids, the guidance counselors need a bit improvement in the communications department and when the students go ask them for help they sometimes send them away because they are too busy. Let me remind you, your job is to listen and help students. Other than that, our family loves Dana Hills high school, 2 generations. Go Blue!

Posted: April 5, 2015

My 15 year old student received a $200 ticket for crossing the street in front of Dana Hills High School. When I contacted Dana Hills to find out what was going on, they said they wanted the kids to walk 100 yards to a crosswalk, so no one gets hurt. I told the office manager, why don't they just send out an email notification and communicate with the students and parents of the issue like they do with everything else, instead of ticketing the students. Their response was its not our job, but the police officer is here in the office if you would like to speak to him. They are claiming they don't want kids to get hurt, but aren't willing to notify them of the situation. So now the City of Dana Hills collects $200 at our expense, so unfortunately we will have to remove it from funds we would have paid to the high school to support the school. This is not a smart practice to have a police officer at the school ticketing students, without even sending out notices of the issue ahead of time.

Posted: August 28, 2014

DANA is great school if your child is AP/Honors, OR has special needs. The resources for these two groups of students is excellent. BUT if you have an average student, BEWARE. My oldest child was all AP/Honors and graduated with a scholarship to a top 20 DIV I university. My second and third children are good students, but are more average. I pulled my daughter out of DANA for this Fall and my son, a freshman, will not attend DANA. They are going to private school. MY daughter had 40 kids in her Algebra II class, and in one class had to wait a few weeks to get a desk or table to sit. She sat on the floor. Her 0 Period teacher was consistently late and missed 4 days last year.NO sub could be found so the kids sat by the cafeteria and some do homework , while others did nothing.I was told by a head administrator, this IS a problem, and it is hard to find subs for 6:30am. A teacher that is consistently 10 min late several times a week and missed class 4 days last year, HOW much time was my daughter robbed in math? 0-4 period no longer an option. School makes more money per student when they have class after lunch. Student has job,sports, doesn't want to miss school?NOT pro student

Posted: August 28, 2014

DANA is great if you are AP/Honors, or disabled. The teacher/student ratio is misleading at 1:27. That is average. The smallest classes are AP/Honors, which skews their stats. My oldest child had 21 kids in her AP Calc class. My second had 40 kids in reg Algebra2. My oldest had 25 in Hon English,My second had 38 in reg English. Average students are among ALL average kids.Some want to learn ,others do not.It's NOT an environment conducive for average students to learn. Teachers are overwhelmed with so many over crowded classes. DANA is 42 years old and resembles a prison. It is dark and dreary, and in need of major renovation. Many teachers, students and parents give much support in giving their time to make things better. It's not enough.It is sad such a beautiful campus, be neglected.How many public schools boast an OCEAN view? Broken air conditioners in many over crowded classes, makes for a poor learning environment.I feel for students who were LOCKED DOWN 4hrs last May. My child was there. Take a stand!Hit the District in the wallet,by home schooling, school online& private,Money talks! My child won't be returning to DH,but heading to a private school.My 9th grader, the same

Posted: June 4, 2014

Teachers are amazing and truly have a passion to teach. But the downside to this school is the staff.

Posted: September 26, 2013

I grew up in Dana Point and went to this and every school in the area till freshmen year. Parents, be aware; your kids are around offfers to others parents pills, and many other types of drugs that lead them off track, I say this from experience. PAY ATTENTION TO WHO YOU'RE KIDS HANG OUT WITH. Dana Point is a mix of both bad and good backgrounds, good luck.

Posted: September 12, 2012

Nope, Dana Hills rated 153rd in the state in 2011... Not as good a school as you will hear from everyone else. Aliso Niguel is a much better school, (44th in CA.), and their campus doesn't resemble a cell-block inside, (like Dana does). You can also rent an apartment in Aliso and still be able to feed yourself. Good luck finding a decent apartment in Dana district for less than $1700.

Posted: August 26, 2012

We moved from Michigan and my two older sons attended this school. Once came in as a senior and the other as a freshman. We were very satisfied with the education and teachers in this school. One of my sons was involved in SOCSA and the program is incredible. Fantastic caring teachers. Those students went on to be accepted to some pretty incredible schools.