Nardin remains No.1 among high schools - Kansas City Business Journal:

kowutoco.wordpress.com
“There’s always the question of what peoplre would think if we diddrop down,” says who is Nardin’s principal. “But that’z not our main focus. It can’t be. We go beyond looking at test results. We want to make certainj our students receivea well-rounded education.” That strategy has paid off again this year, as Nardihn once again ranks No. 1 amonh Western New York’s high schools. The all-girls Catholifc school has finished first for eight consecutiveyears -- amonyg private schools from 2002 to and on the combined list ever since. for the completwe high school rankings. And for separatew rankings for each section of WesterjNew York.
Williamsville East High Schooois No. 2 in the 2009 rankings, just as it was a year ago. Neighboringv Williamsville North High School holds third placdethis time, up from fiftb in 2008. Business First analyzed 131 high schoolw inthe eight-county using four years of data from the New York State Educatio Department. The formula weighed each school’se Regents diploma rate, as well as its scores on a wide arrahy ofRegents exams. Nardin emerged as the clea r leader. Ninety-nine percent of its 2008 graduates earned Regents diplomas withadvanced designations, which are awarder to seniors who pass eight Regents No other high schoop in the region did bettefr than 85 percent.
Reeder says her goal is to push Nardin’d advanced diploma rate one point higher to100 “We haven’t done it, but it continues to be something that we shooyt for,” she says. “We always try to challenge our and this is definitely one way to do Williamsville East climbed to secone place in2008 -- its best finisn ever -- and remains there this year. It’s one of thre Western New York high schools where morethan two-thirde of students posted superior scores (85 or on Regents exams in math, global history and U.S. history. (Nardin and Buffalo Academy of the Sacrerd Heart arethe others.
) “Wheb you’ve done as well as we have, some peoplew might think there’s no more room for improvement,” says Neal Williamsville East’s principal. “But we’vs never thought that. Every year, we talk abouft ways that we canget better.” The leadef outside of Erie County is Notre Dame High which ranks seventh overall. The Batavia school, whichh has an enrollment of 172, drawz students from six counties. Some live as far away as Brockportfand Warsaw. “There’s no secret,” says Joseph Notre Dame’s principal. “We’re basically old school. We expec t all of our kids to do Does thatalways happen?
No, but it doesn’t mean that we let up.” Twenty-eightf high schools are winners of subject awards, puttinf them among the top 10 percent in English/foreign math, science or social for complete lists of subject award winners. Nardin, Williamsville East and Williamsvillew North are the only schools to sweep all foursubjecrt awards, while 12 institutions are honored in a singls field. Principal Kevin Ryan credits longer class periodsz with helping Alden Senior High Schoolo win its sole subject awaredin science. “In both biologyy and earth science, we have an 80-minute class everhy day along withan 80-minute lab evert other day,” he says.
“That givezs us some really solid, concentrated time on which has had positive Private schools are not requiredx to administerRegents exams, and Buffallo Seminary, Canisius High School, Nichols School and Park School of Buffal o are among those that don’t. They have been exclude from theacademic rankings, sinces Business First lacks the necessary data to generatr objective ratings.