Olentangy Local School District is one of the most prestigious districts in the state  with the three high schools ranked at eighth, 12th and 18th according to U.S.News. Olentangy’s slogan is “Our mission is to facilitate maximum learning for every student.” Some students at Olentangy feel this statement is ironic because high schoolers among the district face growing stress, and the slogan directly talks about helping students move forward throughout their learning experience.

“I can really tell the difference between the work load in middle school versus high school. I wasn’t prepared for the change,” Rylan H. ‘21 said.

OLSD is known for its outstanding academic success, pertaining to test scores in all categories and subjects. With an overwhelming student count of over 16,000 in the district, they have a 99 percent rate for graduation and 61.8 percent rate for college readiness, according to U.S.News. But, these statistics come with consequences. Students start to feel overwhelmed  with the amount of work they have and classes they take. According to USA Today, over one quarter of students across the nation feel “extreme stress” throughout the year.

Overall, the district can be seen as one of the more “successful“ districts, Melat E. ‘19 said.

Melat takes five AP courses. Within the learning, she feels as though the district does a good job with the education available and finding teachers who are good at what they do. Although, Melat often finds teachers saying “do what you love,” while students are under the impression they are expected to choose a higher paying job.

It begins in eighth grade, when students start their transition into high school. Some are forced into classes they don’t feel comfortable taking just because they are a labeled as a gifted student or “above average.” A student may have the intelligence to be in an advanced class, but it does not mean a they will do well mentally. An immense factor in performance in a class, is if the student is passionate about the subject.

“I feel like I’m pressured to take harder classes by my teachers and counselors,”  Marlee W. ‘19 said.

Marlee started her first year at Olentangy this year. A specific time where she felt as if she was being pressured was when a counselor tried to convince her to taking another year of a foreign language she was not comfortable taking. She felt taking the extra year of this language would be hard on her, so the better choice would be to start taking a new language. But instead, she did what her guidance counselor said to do, and is scared to see what the rest of the year holds.

Overall Olentangy students support the way the district runs their schools, but they feel the district can improve how they influence students to do after high school, and the class choices.

Olentangy is planning on pursuing a new and fresh brand for the district. The main focus of the district will continue to facilitate maximum learning with every student, but the fresh branding may change the “look or feel” of Olentangy logo, Krista Davis, head of communications said.