North Garland High School has once again been selected as one of the nation’s best campuses. In addition to The Washington Post’s recent designation, North Garland also earned a spot on U.S. News & World Report’s 2015 Best High Schools Rankings, making it the only district campus to receive two top titles this year.
“This is very exciting for the entire campus. Students and staff work hard every day to ensure all are taking advantage of instructional and extracurricular opportunities afforded to them,” said Principal Glenda Williams. “There are many deserving schools in our district, and North was fortunate enough to meet all of the criteria set forth by the selection committee. But I know teachers and students are working hard in all GISD schools, and others will be recognized in future years.”
The Raiders made the revered list along with just 6,517 of the nation’s 19,753 public high schools evaluated. U.S. News ranked those that made the cut, awarding the top 500 with gold medals, 2027 with silver and 3,990 with bronze. North Garland snagged a silver medal, ranking within the best-performing 2,527 schools in America.
Campuses received Best High School status if they featured all of the following: above state average scores on math and reading proficiency tests; high-performing disadvantaged students; and elevated college-readiness performance on Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate tests.
On a national level, North ranked 2,319. Just 223 Texas schools made this year’s list, with North taking the 208th spot. The campus had 32 percent of its student body take the AP test, with 18 percent earning a passing score.
“We feel we have a structure and climate in place that allows our students to shine,” Williams said. “This recognition emphasizes our student’s achievements, and we hope it inspires future Raiders to succeed. For staff, it affirms that their efforts in educating our students are highly successful and that a culture of continuous improvement supports this attainment.”