The Top High Schools in Rhode Island 2015

GoLocalProv News Team

The Top High Schools in Rhode Island 2015

Who are RI's top high schools for 2015? See GoLocal's ranking BELOW.
The grades are in — GoLocalProv’s sixth annual Top High Schools in Rhode Island has determined that East Greenwich is head of the class for 2015.

SLIDES:  See the List of RI’s Top High Schools 2015 BELOW

Based on a formula developed at Babson College to assess and weight each school's latest NECAP and SAT scores, plus per pupil funding, student-teacher ratios, and graduation rates, GoLocal has provided a comprehensive performance list of the state's public, charter, and technical high schools. 

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READ: Top High Schools Methodology HERE

So what makes a top high school — and what are the challenges that urban schools face in particular?  GoLocal spoke with principals and administrators at the state's top high schools, and also representatives from Providence as to what constitutes success, and where the challenges remain. 

“There are factors that influence a school's success that are not easy to quantify, but are just as important, if not more so, than the easily quantifiable metrics that all too often are used to judge school,” said East Greenwich Principal Michael Podraza.

“For example, how present are the following throughout the school's community in pursuit of learning: collaboration, trust, willingness to explore, openness to new ideas, and calculated risk taking? In my opinion, when these are cultivated and able to be found throughout the school community, you have a truly successful school,” continued Podraza.  “The biggest challenge is keeping up with the pace of change in the world today. To do so it takes constant reflection and a willingness to change and evolve what it means to be a school, an educator, a student, and a school community.”

East Greenwich High School took top honors for 2015.
Last year, Narragansett High School had taken the top spot in GoLocal's rankings; this year it came in at number three in the state.

“I give a lot of credit to the faculty. We’ve been together so long here, we’ve got a real synergy,” said Narragansett High School Principal Dan Warner. “One of the things we’ve done recently is the ’TASC’ block. It's advisory with academic meat on the bone. Kids have an opportunity to do work within the school day with the teachers they're struggling with, and we’ve found that it’s working.”  

Providence in Focus

The top ranked Providence high school was Classical at #15, who annually receives top honors for the state by national rankings.  

“We continue to be proud of the success of our students at Classical High School, a majority of whom met or exceeded expectations in both English Language Arts and Math on the first PARCC assessments,” said Providence Interim Superintendent Chris Maher. “These results point to the sustained excellence of Classical as one of the best high schools in Rhode Island.”

"At 360 High School, one of our new Opportunity by Design Schools, we are very encouraged by the early results of the school’s “mastery based instruction” model, where students work to demonstrate mastery of material and the ability to apply it to real world situations," said Maher. "Every trimester, 360 students are required to present their learning and work, and defend it to their teachers and peers.  Results to date are promising and we look forward to seeing the continued success of this innovative model."

Maher spoke to the schools working with employers and colleges to provide students with new opportunities.  

“Our work to revamp Career & Technical Education is bearing real fruit at the Providence Career and Technical Academy.  PCTA has increased partnerships with area employers so that students receive real world instruction, while participating businesses benefit from developing the talented workforce they need to succeed and grow,” said Maher.

Providence School Board President Keith Oliveira weighs in on what the rankings do - and don't - measure.
"Finally, we recognize the importance of strengthening our relationships with institutions of higher education to further the opportunities for our students.  That’s why we have established a new relationship with Roger Williams University and their School of Continuing Studies.  Through this collaboration, we have launched a program at the Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex to allow students to concurrently enroll in the university’s Community Development and Planning certificate program,” said Maher.” Students who successfully complete the program and who are admitted to and attend RWU in the year immediately following their graduation from JSEC will receive three undergraduate credits for each course completed.

Keith Oliveira, President of the Providence School Board, warned about using certain performance metrics in comparing urban versus suburban students, however.

READ: One-on-One with Keith Oliveira

“If you looked at some rankings, you’d presume the teaching and learning isn’t on par, but it doesn’t acknowledge that we serve entirely different populations,” said Oliveira. “What is the value of common standard comparison, when the backgrounds and foundations [of urban students] are anything but standard.  A lot of them are substandard.”


Top High Schools in Rhode Island 2015

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