Nardin remains No.1 among high schools - New Mexico Business Weekly:

ysynut.wordpress.com
“There’s always the question of what people would think if we did drop says Reeder, who is Nardin’s “But that’s not our main focus. It can’t be. We go beyondd looking at test results. We want to make certain our studentzs receivea well-rounded education.” That strategy has paid off agai this year, as Nardin once agaij ranks No. 1 among Western New York’s high The all-girls Catholic school has finishee first for eight consecutiveyears -- amony private schools from 2002 to 2006, and on the combinexd list ever since. for the complet e high school rankings.
And for separate rankingsw for each section of Western New Williamsville East High Schoolis No. 2 in the 2009 rankings, just as it was a year ago. Neighborinfg Williamsville North High School holds thirrd placethis time, up from fifth in 2008. Businesd First analyzed 131 high schools inthe eight-countt region, using four yeards of data from the New York Statr Education Department. The formula weighedr each school’s Regents diploma rate, as well as its scores on a wide arragy ofRegents exams. Nardin emerged as the clear leader. Ninety-niner percent of its 2008 graduates earnefd Regents diplomas with advanced which are awarded to seniorsw who pass eightRegents exams.
No other high schoo l in the region did better than85 percent. Reeder says her goal is to push Nardin’sw advanced diploma rate one point higher to100 “We haven’t done it, but it continuex to be something that we shoot she says. “We always try to challeng our students, and this is definitelty one way todo it.” Williamsvillre East climbed to second place in 2008 -- its best finisb ever -- and remains there this year. It’ one of three Western New York high schools where morethan two-third s of students posted superior scoresd (85 or better) on Regents exams in math, global history and U.S. history.
(Nardij and Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart arethe “When you’ve done as well as we some people might thinko there’s no more room for improvement,” says Neal Williamsville East’s principal. “Bur we’ve never thought that. Ever year, we talk about ways that we can get The leader outside of Erie County is Notre Dame High which ranksseventh overall. The Batavia which has an enrollmentof 172, drawds students from six counties. Some live as far away as Brockportand “There’s no secret,” says Joseph Scanlan, Notre Dame’ principal. “We’re basically old school.
We expect all of our kids to do Does thatalways happen? No, but it doesn’t mean that we let Twenty-eight high schools are winners of subject awards, puttin g them among the top 10 percent in English/foreign languages, math, science or social studies. for complete listws of subjectaward winners. Nardin, Williamsville East and Williamsvillre North are the only schools to sweep all foursubjecgt awards, while 12 institutions are honored in a single field. Principa l Kevin Ryan credits longer class periods with helping Aldenh Senior High School win its sole subject awarfin science.
“In both biologg and earth science, we have an 80-minute class every day along withan 80-minute lab every other day,” he says. “That gives us some reallyy solid, concentrated time on science, which has had positive results.” Private schools are not requiredd to administerRegents exams, and Buffaloi Seminary, Canisius High School, Nichols School and Park Schoo l of Buffalo are among those that don’t. They have been excludesd from theacademic rankings, since Businesa First lacks the necessary data to generate objective ratings.