By Nafisa Hossain
On November 4, the go-to website for business news, BusinessInsider.com and Niche, a helpful site for students that provides information about schools and educational opportunities, released a list of schools they named as the nation’s 100 best public high schools. Granada Hills Charter High School (GHCHS) was ranked number ten on the list.
GHCHS is one of four California schools to make the cut and is the only school in Los Angeles to make the list. The other schools include Henry M. Gunn High School in
Palo Alto, Troy High School in Fullerton, and Saratoga High School in Saratoga.
Niche and Business Insider looked at a variety of different topics in order to make their selections for the best public high schools. They judged based on categories like academics, student culture and diversity, resources and facilities, and teachers.
GHCHS received outstanding marks on all of the subjects. Niche quoted a student, from the feedback given concerning the school, who said “The curriculum is advanced and fast-paced; [the] teachers are awesome… [and] know what they’re doing.”
This latest achievement tacks onto GHCHS’s already impressive resume as it holds the honor of being the only school to get three consecutive national titles for the Academic Decathlon and is also known for the amazing learning opportunities they present to their students. Additionally, GHCHS is a California Distinguished School and has an Academic Performance Index (API) score of 877 which is well over the target score for all California schools.
“The honor is especially notable because Granada Hills Charter High School is also the largest single education reform effort in the country. Granada serves nearly 4500 families in the San Fernando Valley, and sends over 90% of its students to two and four-year colleges. A dozen years ago, Granada’s educators transformed the 22-acre school into an independent charter school. Its API scores have jumped 126 points to almost 900 since becoming a charter,” according to the GHCHS press statement.
The entire community is proud of the school which turned charter in 2003. Executive Director Brian Bauer said, “Public schools do work, and work well when teachers feel like they have a voice in the direction of their school and when students learn to have high expectations….and reach them.”
Bauer’s words ring true with the school’s accomplishment as number ten in the nation. Congratulations GHCHS and keep up the great work!
The Plaid Press 