National publication gives excellence award to Glen Lake, Leland.

Two county high schools are being recognized as among the best in the country in U.S. News and World Report’s  “Best High Schools 2008,” which hits the newsstands today.

Leland and Glen Lake schools were issued bronze medals by the national magazine, which based much of its decisions on School Evaluation Service, a K-12 education data research business run by Standard & Poors. The honor recognizes schools that “serve all students well, not just those who are bound for college.”

“I couldn’t be more thrilled,” said Glen Lake principal Kevin Kelly, who is in his second year at the school. He said he’d been monitoring the ranking publication for the past 12 years, hoping one day that his previous school in Wayne County might receive recognition. It didn’t happen.

“All of our teachers, support staff and community (at Glen Lake) deserve credit,” he said of the award.

The publication analyzed 18,790 public high schools in 40 states using data from the 2005-06 school year. Public high schools in each state that had grade 12 enrollment and sufficient data to analyze for that year were included in the analysis.  The study process  involved a look at state proficiency standards and assessed the degree to which schools prepared students for college-level work. It also factored in average student performance compared with “disadvantaged” students.

During the 2005-06 school year, 34.7 percent of Leland’s enrollment of 460 students was identified as “disadvantaged.” The same students at Glen Lake represented 19 percent of the school’s 503-student enrollment in 2005-06.

“I think it measures how well we do what we do with the available resources,” Glen Lake Elementary counselor Mary Long said.

Nationally, 1,591 schools were recognized in the report, with 100 receiving gold medals, 405 getting silver, and 1,086 earning bronze.

Leland and Glen Lake were among 94 schools in the state in the bronze category that met the performance criteria, but didn’t achieve a college readiness index of at least 20. The only other area high schools with the same designation were Frankfort and Kingsley.

Thirteen schools in the state were issued silver medals. However, none are located in northwestern Lower Michigan. Most schools with that designation are located in more populated downstate communities, such as Grand Rapids and suburban Detroit. Houghton High School in the western Upper Peninsula was also on the list.

Curiously, Michigan was not represented among the top 100 high schools in the country that received gold medals.

“We’re delighted to hear about it,” Glen Lake Superintendent Joan Groening said. “It means we’re doing a good job in a tough environment when tough decisions had to be made.”

Not included in the rankings were schools from Alabama, Alaska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and Washington, D.C. since they did not make their 2005-06 school-year state test data available. Mississippi, Montana and Nebraska were excluded because they provide insufficient assessment data to complete the analysis.

While a feather in the caps of both schools, Leland Superintendent Mike Hartigan isn’t putting too much emphasis on the recognition.

“We don’t dwell on these lists or awards,” he said. “We need to get better all the time … improve, improve, improve. Because, if you stop getting better, you stop getting good.”