Longmeadow High named one of top 1,000 schools in U.S.

Date: 5/29/2012

May 28, 2012

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

LONGMEADOW — Longmeadow High School received national recognition recently as it was named one of the top 1,000 schools in America by Newsweek Magazine.

The rankings, which were published on May 21, list Longmeadow 520th in the country, 13th in the Commonwealth and first overall in Western Massachusetts.

Hopkins Academy in Hadley was the only other Western Massachusetts school to make the list, ranking 930th overall and 21st in the state.

Longmeadow was also 10th in Massachusetts among non-charter public schools with open enrollment.

"I'm very proud of the high school students, our administrative team and our teachers," Superintendent Marie Doyle said. "It's really quite an honor to be ranked in the top schools in the nation."

Newsweek compiled the ranking with a formula that took into account graduation rates, college matriculation rates, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) tests taken per student, average SAT/ACT scores, average AP/IB/AICE scores and AP courses offered per student.

"This place is all about the accomplishments of the students. We have a strong faculty, but they have tremendous kids to work with, so what happens is when [the teachers] challenge them, our kids respond in a very positive way," Principal Lawrence Berte said. "When you get identified by something like this, it's all based on student accomplishments."

Berte added that the one way the school challenges its students is by offering a wide array of AP courses and tests. Berte explained that colleges give students college credit for scores of three or higher on a scoring scale of one to five. More than 80 percent of students who took AP tests scored three or higher, he said.

"What separates us from other schools is our AP scores. Our AP scores are outstanding," he said. "Not only do our students do well on [the tests], but we offer quite a few of them. We have been recognized by other agencies for the number of AP tests we administer in a given year and the number of AP courses we have at the high school."

Doyle added that Longmeadow High School's various program levels also help ensure that students ranging from the top 10 percent to those in special education programs are in a position to succeed.

"I think Longmeadow puts substantial support in helping all of our students succeed," she said. "We've done a great job in servicing our special needs students and one of our focuses now is how to challenge our top students."

The school's focus on supporting the arts, extracurricular activities and athletics also helps prepare students for success inside and outside of the classroom, Berte added.

"This is a school that supports the arts, music, technology, community service and athletics," he said. "All of those things are aspects of the experience that our kids have in this community and all of that leads to us doing well in these kinds of assessments."

Berte said while he was also proud of the accomplishment, he felt credit was due to more than just the high school.

"The students' accomplishments in the high school are just a culmination of what is a great education they get through the entire district," he said. "The high school gets the recognition, but this is a district award in my opinion."

Berte and Doyle also cited tremendous community support in the high school's success.

"I think Longmeadow's citizens are highly supportive of education. This ranking is a reflection of that community support," Doyle said. "Our families have high expectations for students and provide students and schools the supports needed to help children excel."

Newsweek's rankings come on the heels of U.S. News and World Report's rankings, which did not include Longmeadow High School as a top school. However, U.S. News and World Report's website reports that 40 percent of Longmeadow High School seniors passed their AP tests, a number that conflicts with Berte's figure of more than 80 percent.

However, Berte said that rankings are only one thing that should be considered when measuring the value of a school.

"The rankings are great. It's nice to be recognized, but I think it's more important to look at what the values are of your community, how important education is, and that there are constant criteria you can look at — AP scores, SAT scores — to see what your students accomplish," he said. "Any school that has a strong program of study, offers a variety of courses and incorporates that with the arts, activities and athletics is going to be a successful place under anyone's standards or criteria when you make these kinds of lists."