East Hampton High School Ranked a “Best High School” in New Report

East Hampton High School has made the list as one of Connecticut’s “Best High Schools” in the 2013 rankings by U.S World & News Report, which also ranked the school nationally as a top public school. 

Under the annual rankings of public high schools conducted by the magazine, East Hampton was one of only 24 in Connecticut that earned a Silver Award as a top-performing school and was ranked 32nd out of 196 high schools that were analyzed by the magazine for its 2013 list.

Only 35 public high schools in the state were ranked “best” by the magazine. Nationally, the magazine ranked East Hampton High School 1,443rd out of 21,035 public high schools.

The state and national rankings are based on several criteria, including the college readiness of each high school’s student body, how well the schools teach all of its students — including those who are economically disadvantaged — and how all students perform on certain standardized tests. The magazine did not include private or parochial schools in the rankings, but did include charter and magnet schools.

Only schools that earned a top award distinction by the magazine — gold and silver — were ranked as “best,” and there were 35 such schools in Connecticut.

John Fidler, East Hampton High School’s principal, said the ranking by U.S. World & News Report reflects the hard work of the school’s former leader, Linda Berry, the school’s teachers and its students.

“This is a proud testament to the work that Dr. Linda Berry engaged in while she was here as the data for this report was taken during her last year at the high school.  We continue to be proud of the level of instruction our faculty delivers and of the level of achievement attained by our students.  I am confident we will carry on the tradition and fully expect to see East Hampton again recognized in the rank report generated by U.S. News and World Report.

He also said the ranking underscores the need for the $52 million proposed renovation of the high school.

“I think this puts an exclamation point on the need to renovate the high school.  It would be a sad shame to see our accreditation in jeopardy when the people who inhabit the building each day work as hard as they do to ensure the success our students.  It is absolutely necessary that we improve the conditions and upgrade the facility, along with the tools of instruction, so that as we move forward we can compete on a 21st century level.”

East Hampton officials are seeking a $52 million renovation of the high school to address deficiencies in a report by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges that said the school needs to upgrade its facility, particularly its math and science areas, or risk losing its accreditation.

The Board of Finance on Monday approved the renovation plan — the board’s backing was a major hurdle to moving the proposal forward — and the Town Council is expected to approve it as well when it meets tonight.

Related Story:
Finance Board Approves High School Renovation Plan.

Four other Connecticut high schools, including Portland High School, were given bronze awards by the magazine, but because they did not meet all three ranking criteria — a college readiness index of at least 14.8, performing above the state average for their least advantaged students and high performance on college-level advanced placement tests — they did not receive a ranking of “Best High School.”

The top 10 best high schools in the state, as ranked by U.S. World & News Report are:

1. Darien High School
   
2. Conard High School, West Hartford
   
3. Weston High School
   
4. Ridgefield High School
   
5. Farmington High School
   
6. Wilton High School
   
7. Staples High School, Westport
   
8. William H. Hall High School, West Hartford
   
9. Joel Barlow High School, Redding
10. Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy, East Hartford