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December 14, 2007

Ticonderoga, Schroon score high

National magazine recognizes area schools

By LOHR McKINSTRY

TICONDEROGA -- Just two schools in the tri-county area got high enough scores to make U.S. News and World Report's ranking of the top high schools in America.

Ticonderoga High School got a silver medal, while Schroon Lake Central received the bronze.

TOP 10 PERCENT

Ticonderoga School Superintendent John McDonald Jr. said he heard about Ticonderoga's silver while he was in Lake Placid, so he got into the Olympic spirit of the rankings right away.

The magazine surveyed 18,790 schools and awarded 100 gold medals, 405 silver and 1,086 bronze. In New York state, 42 schools got gold or silver medals.

"Ticonderoga was awarded silver status and Schroon bronze," McDonald said. "That puts Ticonderoga in the top 2 percent, Schroon in the top 9 percent."

PREPARED FOR COLLEGE

The top score was for college readiness of students, McDonald said.

"We've pushed the last few years to generate high expectations for our students. We said college starts with kindergarten. We've tried to align our curriculum to put kids on a path to take higher level courses."

Many Ticonderoga students pass Advanced Placement exams. Those types of courses are accepted for college credit at most universities.

"We have non-traditional kids taking Advanced Placement and taking college courses," McDonald said. "We tried to generate higher expectations for all our kids."

Ticonderoga is listed as a poor community, with 48 percent of students receiving free or reduced-price lunches, and McDonald said the award has boosted morale at the school.

"For Ticonderoga to be a silver star, with our demographics -- it's great news. It's good for our students and our staff, for the efforts they're making. Our high expectations are paying off."

CONNECTING WITH KIDS

Schroon Superintendent Michael S. Bonnewell said the staff and students at Schroon Lake Central work hard and deserve recognition. He said the school's small size enables teachers and staff to work closely with individual students.

"Our size and ability to connect with students is a big plus. We make sure all our students are progressing. Not every student moves at the same pace. By and large, students here are exceeding the state norm."

Bonnewell said educators and students at Schroon are ecstatic about the ranking.

"We're proud of the achievement. It's great to be listed in the top 9 percent of high schools nationally."

RANKING FORMULA

Ticonderoga has 980 students in grades K through 12, while Schroon has 280.

The formula used in the survey was produced in collaboration with School Evaluation Services, a K-12 data research and analysis business run by Standard & Poor's, and included a three-step analysis.

According to the magazine, the study "is based on the key principles that a great high school must serve all its students well, not just those who are bound for college, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes that show the school is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators."

The survey says the top school in the nation is Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Va.

lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com

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