RI's #8 School: Toll Gate High School

RI's #8 School: Toll Gate High School

If this were sports, Toll Gate High School would be the Cinderella team. If this were a fairy tales, the Warwick high school would be Cinderella.

In the biggest move of 2011, Toll Gate broke into the Top 10 rankings at #8, all the way from #21. What's the engine behind this surge?

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Can you spell NECAP? Scores went way up on every measure. In Reading, Toll Gate now boasts 90% of its students score above proficient, a major gain from previous scores. The high school's Writing NECAPs also jumped substantially in 2011, to 68% above proficient, the fourth best score on that measure in the Top 10. Add to that a $1,000 per student bump in funding levels, and a 6% increase in the graduation rate, and that's the kind of juice that can move a school up the ladder quickly. And quickly it did.

Beyond the burst

Toll Gate has a strong Mock Trial program, a hallmark of a great public school (and a great involvement for college applicants). On the athletic side, the school has spawned many championship teams over the years, but none quite so famous as the Varsity (Boys) Ice Hockey Team that beat Mount Saint Charles in the 2004 RI State Championship and ended the longest winning streak in high school sports history (26 years), with future US Olympian Sara DeCosta in net for the Titans.

Toll Gate High School at a Glance

Enrollment: 1,021

Mascot: The Titans

Famous alums:

• Janice Anderson, Assistant Production Manager, Cirque du Soleil
• Tom Cavanagh, Forward, Worcester Sharks
• Sara DeCosta, Goalie, 1998 and 2002 U.S. Women's Olympic Hockey Team
• Michaela McManus, class of 2001, actress
• Tony Petrarca, Chief Meteorologist, WPRI-TV
• Brian Shanley, President, Providence College
• David Petrarca, director; extensive theatre, film and television work including Big Love, True Blood, and Hung for HBO; over 40 world premieres including of Marvin's Room (B'way and West End) , Fuddy Meers (NYC), and A Year With Frog And Toad (B'way)
• Kyle Browning, descendant of English Poet Robert Browning

 

 

For a downloadable, printable version of RI's Top High Schools 2011, with the full chart of rankings and summaries of key articles, click here.