For the second year in a row, Chalmette High School is among the list of schools recognized by U.S. News and World Report as the country's best high schools. The magazine analyzed more than 21,000 high schools across the country in establishing its list of the best.
Chalmette High received a bronze medal ranking. Only one school in Louisiana, Benjamin Franklin Senior High in New Orleans, received a gold medal. Franklin and four Louisiana schools earning silver medals are all magnet schools, practicing selective admissions based on test-scores. Lusher Charter High School in Orleans also earned a silver medal.
By earning the bronze medal ranking, Chalmette joins 25 other high schools in the state. No other high schools in Jefferson, Orleans, St. Tammany, or St. Charles earned bronze medals. Last year, 32 high schools in Louisiana won the bronze award.
U.S. News and World Report teamed with School Evaluation Services, a K-12 education data research business run by Standard & Poors, to complete the analysis. The group looked at academic and enrollment data from high schools using 2007-2008 information. According to the magazine, the report is based on key principles that "a great high school must serve all its students well, [including the college-bound and non-college bound], and it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes to show that the school is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators."
The first two parts of the study look at results on state proficiency tests and student demographics, such as socio-economic levels of students. Then, schools are judged based on college-readiness measures, such as advanced placement and rigorous, higher level academic courses.
Chalmette High School Principal Wayne Warner, who has headed the institution for 36 years, said, "This report is a great tribute to the hard work of our students and their parents. We have wonderful students at Chalmette High, and we appreciate this recognition for them." Warner also said, "It is also rewarding to have a prestigious outside agency, such as U.S. News and World Report, recognize the hard work that our faculty and staff do every day. We try very hard to meet the needs of all of our students and to give them what they need for their individual futures once they leave us. It is reassuring to know that we are among the best at meeting that obligation."
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