NKHS is renowned for its rigorous academics and diverse course selection, earning its spot as the fifth best high school overall in Rhode Island. According to Niche, it is ranked #9 out of all high schools in Rhode Island for preparing its students for college. A fair question might be, “but at what cost to students’ mental health?” In other words, do students who attend NKHS put too much pressure on themselves?
A survey sent out by the guidance department in 2023 attempted to determine the amount of stress students were under. Out of the 500 students who responded to the survey, the vast majority reported that their stress mainly derived from their academic workload. Ms. Sherrie Monaco, school psychologist, believes this is partly related to the competitive NKHS school culture, which causes students to compare themselves to their peers, potentially at unhealthy levels.
“All of those things are okay to a degree, because they give us drive, but when students become fixated over these things, it becomes a major stressor,” said Monaco.
Junior Caroline Goba is an AP student and commented that she feels a lot of pressure to perform well in school, mainly from comparing herself to others. She states that the academic atmosphere at NKHS is “pretty competitive.” Goba said that she spends a frustrating two hours each night trying to complete homework.
Katelyn Bard, another junior, feels differently. Bard is taking all honors and three AP courses this year, many of which are science based. Bard reports having three hours of homework each night. She believes that the workload is proportional to the classes she is taking and feels a healthy amount of pressure, like Monaco mentioned.
“The pressure isn’t excessive,” she said. “It’s just enough to keep me motivated to study and do all my work, but I don’t feel like I need to do amazing or the world is gonna end. I just do my best.”
Bard strives for all 90s each quarter, but doesn’t let one bad grade affect her. If she gets a grade below her expectations, she just tries harder and focuses more on the next assignment.
Although Bard doesn’t feel much pressure herself, she has observed many of her peers in AP classes being overly competitive and applying pressure on themselves.
Anthony Azzolina is a freshman at the high school this year, taking mainly honors-level classes. He also notices his classmates putting excessive pressure on themselves and over-studying.
Despite his own experience being on the non-competitive side, Azzolina said, “I think [the school’s reputation] does impact the students, because I know NK is one of the best high schools in RI, so a lot of people there are smart.”
While other students placed the importance of their grades as an 8/10 or 9/10 and strived for 85’s and up on all assignments, Azzolina placed the importance of his grades as a 3/10 and doesn’t mind as long as he passes.
Although he doesn’t get stressed over school often, he does feel increased pressure from his parents if he needs to do well on an assessment to get his grade up to expectations.
Brenna Malloy, a junior taking five AP classes this year, spends only 1-2 hours max on homework after discovering alternative methods that improved the efficiency in her studying such as flash cards and reviewing videos. She believes that she is more academically competitive than other students, but not the most competitive student at NKHS because she is able to maintain a healthy balance of school work and other activities.
She finds that her peers are often comparing grades to one another, creating a competitive atmosphere within the school, but she does not directly connect that competitive spirit to the school’s reputation.
Malloy believes that the main source of pressure and competition comes from the students themselves.
“Everyone’s like, ‘you won’t get into college unless you get good grades,’” Malloy said. “At the top, you base your self-worth off of grades solely. You should value your grades, but it’s important to instill that your life is important, too.”
Despite all students having unique experiences, the consensus was that the workload at NKHS is the main driver of stress among its students as well as people putting too much pressure on themselves to perform well and that the academic atmosphere within the school is noticeably competitive. On a more positive note, each of the students reported having enough time for hobbies, hanging out with friends, and other extracurricular activities outside of school.
