Local high school named among best in country

Charleston Post and Courier
Diette Courrege
December 8, 2008

Charleston County residents aren’t just bragging when they say their school district is home to one of the top high schools in the country.

Academic Magnet High School catapulted to the No. 9 spot in a ranking of the country’s best high schools by U.S. News & World Report. The magazine’s rankings issue will be published Monday.

The North Charleston school improved from No. 27 last year — the magazine’s first list of top high schools. The school also landed in the No. 2 spot for magnet schools nationwide.

“You’re kidding,” school Principal Judith Peterson said when she heard the news from The Post and Courier. “That’s terrific. That is really exciting. The faculty and staff that have worked so hard will just be so pleased to hear that.”

U.S. News & World Report is one of two national publications in which Academic Magnet has dominated scholastic ratings. In May, Newsweek ranked the school as seventh best, an improvement from its previous 11th- and 10th-place rankings the previous two years.

U.S. News & World Report recognized two other Lowcountry schools, Charleston County School of the Arts and Wando High, but did not give them numerical rankings. The School of the Arts received a silver award while Wando High earned a bronze.

South Carolina ranked 20th nationwide for its number of silver or gold schools as a percentage of its total high schools. Nineteen were recognized, and six received gold or silver.

The U.S. News & World Report study evaluated 21,069 public high schools using 2006-07 test scores. The rankings are based on comparisons of students’ test scores to state averages and their participation in and performance on Advanced Placement tests.

The 100 high schools with the highest college readiness scores were ranked and awarded gold medals, and the next 504 top-performing high schools received silver medals. Bronze medals went to 1,321 schools.

Academic Magnet has a highly selective admissions process, and once enrolled, students must take at least four Advanced Placement courses and finish a comprehensive thesis.

Peterson said teachers put an amazing amount of energy into their days and connect with students. When students feel their teachers are invested, they give back 10-fold, she said.

“I don’t think they live for the rankings — I don’t think anyone knew these were coming out today — but certainly they will be really encouraged and pleased that it is as high as it is,” she said.

Senior Juan-Carlos Foust chose Academic Magnet because of the opportunities it offered and its family-like culture, and he said he’s supported by his teachers and motivated by his classmates.

“(The ranking) means a lot,” he said. “We know we’re all working hard and when something like this happens, it makes you step back and appreciate the opportunities you’ve been given.”

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