57 TV Schools That Made the Grade

If a girl's got to reinvent herself in the glaring spotlight of being thought to be suicidal, Palos Hills High School might be the best place she could choose. With equally awkward friends backing her up, Jenna steps up to the challenge of being seen and doesn't look back.

Not sure how long a college would last with administrators like Boyd Pritchett at the helm but man, would it be a fun ride while it lasted...

From the brain of David E. Kelley, Winslow High School was fertile ground for the stories of its teachers, students, and administrators. With a slogan like,"Every day is a fight. For respect. For dignity. For sanity,' it's not going to be the most light-hearted of educations but, boy, will you learn.

Although she seemed to spend the majority of her time in her bedroom, Clarissa DID actually get an education as well. Also, it was probably nice to be able to interact with Sam without him having to climb through her window.

Another small-town high school with all the big feelings, the dramatic adventures of Dawson, Joey, Pacey, and Jen would quickly become the lives more real than real life for a generation of TV watchers. Capeside was where so much of it went down and its halls probably still echo with the taboo sex-talk that got the show named the Worst Show on Television by the Parents Television Council in both 1997-8 and 1998-9 seasons.

Ryan Atwood's arrival in Newport Beach was probably as discombobulating as Dorothy's infamous trip to Oz was. Harbor High School, the private school he attended with foster brother Seth was a far cry from his Chino, CA, public high school and his initial encounters with the "Newpsies" culture is not a smooth transition. However, it's in the halls of Harbor High where he proves to his classmates and himself that he's just as smart and talented as any of them.

Everwood High School is a microcosm of intense narratives. Between newcomer Ephram Brown's musical talent and the repercussions of Starlord's - I mean, Bright Abbott's - drunken car accident before the start of the show, the quiet, idyllic town can't seem to go a week without major shake-ups.

Before there was Glee, there was FAME. Based on the hit 1980 movie, the halls and classrooms of the New York City High School for the Performing Arts were alive with the songs and dance numbers of its students and faculty.

Another high school TV show spawned from a film -- 1982's Fast Times at Ridgemont High -- Fast Times went FAST. Only seven episodes aired in 1986. But Spicoli and gang will always be slacking off in our fond memories.

Besides Aunt Viv's guest lecturer day on African-American history, we don't know much about the course offerings at Bel Air Academy. However, I could imagine a dance and movement course taught by Carlton or Hillary's seminar series on Shopping for Style would have hella long waitlists.

Might be a bit hard to concentrate on calculus equations with half your classmates turning into werewolves on a monthly basis but somehow the student body of Beacon Hills manages to soldier on. Mind you, not without a considerable body count.

In 1952, for a television show to star a woman who had a job, a sense of humor, and realistic relationships was unheard of. With the success of Our Miss Brooks making the leap from radio to TV, that all changed. Connie Brooks was a single, self-reliant English teacher and the students and staff of Madison High School benefited from her sardonic and down-to-earth nature.

Just before taking that ill-fated three-hour tour, Bob Denver played the beatnik sidekick for several seasons to the titular girl-crazy and hopeless dreamer, Dobie Gillis. They attended Central High, a squeaky-clean Midwest school with an endless parade of girls for Dobie to fall in love with and exasperated teachers for garnish.

With a female student body that runs the popularity spectrum from cheerleader to ... journalist (?? wth?) Jacqueline Kennedy High School has a distinct pecking order. When Queen Bee Brooke and mousy Sam suddenly face the reality of potentially becoming family, it's not long before chaos is unleashed.

Location is everything in real estate and high schools are no exception. Much like Sunnydale High's issues with being built on a Hellmouth, Mystic Falls High School is destined to be the premier site for supernatural confrontations due to the fact Mystic Falls is a town founded by immortals, werewolf gene carriers, and vampire hunters.

It's not unusual to feel out of place in high school but when you're actually from outer space, things get a might be trickier. When Max, Isabel, and Michael turn out to not only be aliens but ROYAL aliens, grades and homecoming suddenly seem a lot less important.

The best selling point Roundview College has is probably that it's a school where you can really be yourself whether you're a student or a teacher. That means all sorts of shenanigans in terms of relationships and drugs as well as addressing tougher aspects of life like mental illness and bullying. And in case you're wondering, in the UK, "college" is the equivalent of high school!

Weemawee High School may not have been much to look at but its student body was brimming with potential. From Sarah Jessica Parker's awkward Patty Greene to Tracy Nelson's popular Jennifer DiNuccio to Jami Gertz's preppy Muffy B. Tepperman, Weemawee's yearbook should've read like a 1980's "Who's Gonna Be a Star?"

Oh, to be a student in Peekskill, New York, and mothered by the wonderful Mrs. Garrett! What schoolgirl of the 1980s didn't dream of that homey sort of boarding school life?

The staff and students of Castlebury High would have had no idea that they were interacting with the future "THE" Carrie Bradshaw but, as viewers and SITC fans, Castlebury was the PERFECT place to peek in on Carrie as she found herself in friends, fashion, and faux pas.

Gotta be honest. Daria Morgendorffer was a personal hero of mine growing up. With buddy Jane Lane in tow, she was the O.G. of not giving a f*** in the high school halls and teenage life of Lawndale where being cute and popular was top priority for everyone else. Lawndale High, of the politically savvy principal and mandatory entrance psych evals, proved to be a testing ground for just how much Daria didn't care for their plans for her.