Updated 8/20, 2 p.m. Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) has been awarded the 185th spot in Newsweek‘s annual list of America’s Top High Schools, which was published Wednesday. Newsweek selects the top 500 schools in the country ranking them, “based on a broad range of data to determine which institutions do the best job of preparing students for college.”
The metrics used, which include graduation and college enrollment rates, SAT and ACT scores, AP and IB scores and participation, and teacher-student ratio and dropout rates, are weighted with the highest weighting given to college enrollment and graduation rates respectively.
Out of the 15 schools named to the list in Connecticut, LOLHS came in fifth after three schools in Fairfield County (Weston, Staples at Westport, and Ridgefield) and the Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy of East Hartford. Lyme-Old Lyme High School was also the only school located in New London County with the two nearest ones geographically, Daniel Hand High School in Madison and Haddam-Killingworth High School, taking lower positions than LOLHS at #213 and #353 respectively.
Asked his reaction to Newsweek‘s recognition of LOLHS, Region 18 Superintendent Ian Neviaser said, “We are honored to be recognized by Newsweek. This would not have been possible without the hard work of our dedicated students and staff as well as the ongoing support from our parents, the Board of Education, and the two communities we serve. While this honor is specific to the high school, we could not achieve at this level without a strong PreK-12 system,” adding, “Congratulations to all involved.”
The top school in the country for the second successive year was Thomas Jefferson High in Alexandria, Va., with schools in New Jersey taking the next four spots, as well as the seventh and ninth positions. Apart from Virginia, the Top 10 schools were rounded out with schools located in California (#6), Michigan (#8) and Illinois (#10).
Click here to read Newsweek’s full listing of America’s Top High Schools.
This truly is a recognition of the synergy that we have with two towns that value the education of our children, strong parental guidance, kids that are curious and interested in learning and teachers, administration and Board of Education who guide and support the learning process. In the end though, it is the success of the kids that matter and is being recognized here. Congratulations.