2 Lynn high schools rank at top of class

LYNN – Eat your heart out Essex County educators.According to a new study ranking the top public high schools in America by the U.S. News and World Report, English and Classical are among the leaders in the state in educating students for the future.The two high schools joined Manchester Junior Senior High School in Manchester-by-the-Sea as the only schools in Essex County to make the three-tiered list, with bronze medal distinctions for both schools.The nationally recognized magazine ranked 18,000 public high schools in 40 states based on state test scores, college preparation and the education of disadvantaged students. The top 100 schools were classified as gold medal winners, with 405 silver medal schools and 1,086 bronze medal schools.Overall, Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Virginia was ranked the best in the country, and Boston’s Latin Academy led the state rankings in 19th place on the gold medal rundown. Westin, Dover and Wellesley high schools also earned gold medals in the study, which named Massachusetts as the best overall state for a high school education.The schools studied were based on information available from 2005-2006 state tests and the College Board’s Advanced Placement program. To be eligible, schools also had to have “sufficient grade 12 enrollment,” meaning that nearly every public high school in the state was studied.The magazine used a three-step formula in collaboration with School Evaluation Services, a K-12 data research and analysis business, and ranked schools based on whether or not they were “performing better than statistically expected for the average student in the state” and “the key principle that a great high school must serve all of its students well, not just those that are bound for college,” according to www.usnews.com, the magazine’s Web site.While English and Classical did not make the gold medal list, they are still among the only schools in the area to receive any recognition, making the administrators that lead them very proud.”Any time we can be recognized for academic excellence it is a thrill and an honor,” said Classical Principal Warren White. “To be mentioned in a nationally recognized publication like the U.S. News and World Report speaks volumes in itself just to be on the radar.”Scores on the MCAS tests have been steadily improving at both schools, and have been particularly successful at English in recent years, but the study does not look at test scores alone. It also looks at a school’s ability to educate underprivileged and disadvantaged students who may not be headed to college.”We do a very nice job here at English; our MCAS scores say a lot about the school. But we don’t go looking for a lot of publicity – we treat the top student to the one ranked 1,650th the same,” said English Principal Andrew Fila. “Nice and steady, we try to make every day a good day, not a great day, but a good day. We believe in hard work. Everyone here has to earn everything they have.”Both principals also said they were proud to see their schools rise above others in Essex County, proving that the stigma that Lynn may carry in surrounding communities is unfounded.”It means a lot to this school, and I’m sure it means a lot to the superintendent that everyone who goes to Lynn Public Schools is going to get a good, solid education,” said Fila.Both schools have extensive college preparatory programs, along with programs set up to help students struggling with MCAS testing, or just adapting to the culture of a new country.For example, the Jobs for Bay State Graduates Program, with participation at both schools, help seniors generate job and industry awareness, along with promoting charitable efforts.Both schools have also fostered a variety of math and English/language arts programs to help students become more successful in core subjects.”We have a special math program here where kids volunteer time, and over the last couple of years we have seen those math scores leap up,” said