‘U.S. News & World Report’ places Bob Jones, Grissom in Alabama’s ‘Best High Schools’
Kristi Combs, at left, compares brackets for Myth March Madness with Isaiah Walker, from left, Whee Nyghen, Ethan Smyth and Sammy Shin. (CONTRIBUTED/MARIAH ENFINGER)
MADISON – “U.S. News & World Report” has named Bob Jones and Grissom high schools in its 2013 “Best High Schools” rankings.
For all Alabama high schools, Bob Jones ranked fifth in the state, while Grissom was placed at seventh.
The award shows that Bob Jones is “one of the most college-ready high schools in America. We were first in North Alabama,” Principal Robby Parker said.
The study uses three steps to identify Best High Schools. The first step determined if students are performing better statistically than the state’s average student.
Next, students with “least advantages” (black, Hispanic and low income) must show higher achievement than peers in the state. Finally, the “college readiness index” considers the students’ participation in advance-placement courses or International Baccalaureate study.
“We’re very proud of this award. It shows that almost 90 percent of our kids go to college. We want them to be prepared. Before the magazines issue awards, we have looked at lots of student data and we feel that our kids are college ready,” Parker said.
Bob Jones had the third lowest level in remedial data (students repeating a failed course).
The “U.S. News & World Report” recognition “is confirmation that our kids are the best,” Parker said. He credited the diligence of assistant principals Dr. Julie Finley in curriculum, Jeanne Welt in instruction, Lee Miller, Johnson Wilson and “our wonderful teachers who do such a great job.”
“When a national magazine say you’re one of the best, it makes you proud,” Parker said.
Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School in Montgomery was in first place, followed by Mountain Brook, Homewood and Auburn high schools.
In the Bob Jones Class of 2012, 87 percent were college bound, with 65 percent attending a four-year university and 21 percent enrolled at a two-year community college. The 2012 graduates were offered $33,893,493 in scholarships.
For more information, visit usnews.com/education/best-high-schools.
