Central’s three high schools rank among Newsweek’s top 300

The hard work of Bellmore-Merrick students, teachers and administrators has garnered national recognition as all three Central District high schools –– Calhoun, Kennedy and Mepham –– ranked in the top 300 of Newsweek’s America’s Best High Schools of 2011.

John F. Kennedy High School received the highest ranking at 167, while Sanford H. Calhoun and W.C. Mepham came in at 235 and 268, respectively.

“The Bellmore-Merrick Central District is proud of the accomplishments of its students and faculty,” said Superintendent Dr. Henry Kiernan. “We look forward to its continued success.”

Kennedy High School Principal Lorraine Poppe said, “I am thrilled with Kennedy’s ranking in the recent Newsweek listing. I am fortunate to be working with a strong and dedicated staff, motivated students, and a supportive community.”

Newsweek has produced the annual list of America’s top high schools for more than a decade, but its scoring system was overhauled this year to yield more accurate results. Wendy Kopp of Teach For America, Tom Vander Ark of Open Education Solutions (formerly executive director for education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), and Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford professor of education and founder of the School Redesign Network, led the effort to develop a new rubric.

Each school was scored using six components: graduation rate, college matriculation rate and Advanced Placement tests taken per graduate each accounted for 25 percent of the ranking; average SAT/ACT score and average AP/International Baccalaureate score each accounted for 10 percent; and AP courses offered per graduate counted for 5 percent.

Newsweek then applied the formula to the internal statistics provided by 1,100 of America’s public high schools.

Compared to the No. 1 ranked School of Science and Engineering Magnet in Dallas, which scored a 2.874, Kennedy received a 0.561, Calhoun earned a 0.467 and Mepham a 0.41. The New Century Technology High School in Huntsville, Ala., rounded out the bottom of the list with a score of 0.081.

The Newsweek rankings were released at the start of summer, as Central’s three high schools held their graduation ceremonies on June 26.

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