Monday, January 14, 2008
Garrett schools rank remarkably high nationally
Garrett schools rank remarkably
Sarah Moses
Cumberland Times-News
MCHENRY - According to U.S. News and World Report, both Garrett County high schools are among the top in the nation.
“I think it places our schools in a group of select high schools across Maryland and the United States,” Wendell Teets, superintendent of schools, said. “We have excellent staff and students and I am appreciative of the ranking that U.S. News gave.”
The news magazine did a top ranking of 18,790 schools in 40 states across the country. This was the total number of public high schools in each state that had senior year enrollment and sufficient data from the 2005-2006 school year to analyze.
Of these schools, 1,691 were chosen as the top schools in the country and placed into gold, silver, and bronze categories.
Both Northern and Southern Garrett high schools were ranked at the bronze level.
“We at Southern High School,” Tom Woods, principal, said, “obviously, we’re as excited as the school could be, given that there were almost 19,000 schools assessed. There were only 26 ranked in Maryland. It’s a tribute to the students, staff and all families associated with our school. It certainly makes us think all our hard work is being recognized by people throughout the nation.”
The ranking was based upon several categories. The first was college readiness, determining whether students were performing better than the average student in their state. The second showed that the school’s least-advantaged students were performing better than elsewhere in the state. Finally, the schools were judged on their performance on the advanced placement tests.
“I think it’s a tribute to our school system, to the teachers, the students and the parents as well,” Gary Reichenbecher, principal at Northern, said. “For the school to receive the awards we do, it’s a joint accomplishment. I think the main point I’d like to make is that it’s a real honor. We need to share that in the community.”
Reichenbecher said he was notified of his school’s award in December just prior to the Christmas break.
Western Maryland received eight awards, with six in Washington County and the two in Garrett.
“It’s very exciting for Western Maryland and for the two high schools to be recognized in the report,” Jim Raley, school board president, said.
The rankings were released Nov. 29 and are still on the U.S. News Web site at http://www.usnews.com.
Full article courtesy of the Cumberland Times News
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