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

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“There’s always the question of what peoplse 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 beyond looking at test We want to make certain our students receivera well-rounded education.” That strategyy has paid off againh this year, as Nardin once agaib ranks No. 1 amontg Western New York’s high schools. The all-girls Catholi school has finished first for eigh t consecutiveyears -- among private schools from 2002 to and on the combined list ever for the complete high school rankings. And for separate rankingds for each section of WestermNew York.
Williamsville East High Schoolis No. 2 in the 2009 just as it was ayear ago. Neighboring Williamsville North High Schoo l holds third placethis time, up from fifth in 2008. Businesxs First analyzed 131 high schools inthe eight-county using four years of data from the New York Statr Education Department. The formula weighed each school’se Regents diploma rate, as well as its scoresa on a wide array ofRegentsx exams. Nardin emerged as the clear leader. Ninety-niner percent of its 2008 graduates earned Regentes diplomas withadvanced designations, whicb are awarded to seniors who pass eight Regentds exams. No other high school in the regionb did better than85 percent.
Reederr says her goal is to push Nardin’s advanced diploma rate one point higher to100 “We haven’t done it, but it continues to be something that we shoot she says. “We always try to challenge our and this is definitely one way todo it.” Williamsville East climbe d to second place in 2008 -- its best finisb ever -- and remains there this It’s one of three Western New York high schoolsw where more than two-thirds of students postec superior scores (85 or better) on Regents exams in math, global history and U.S. (Nardin and Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heartt arethe others.
) “When you’ved done as well as we have, some peoplw might think there’s no more room for says Neal Miller, Williamsvillr East’s principal. “But we’ve never thought Every year, we talk about ways that we can get The leader outside of Erie County is Notre DameHigh School, which ranks seventj overall. The Batavia school, whichu has an enrollment of 172, draws students from six Some live as far away as Brockportand “There’s no secret,” says Joseph Scanlan, Notre Dame’sx principal. “We’re basically old school. We expect all of our kids to do Does that alwayshappen ?
No, but it doesn’t mean that we let Twenty-eight high schools are winners of subject awards, putting them among the top 10 percentt in English/foreign languages, math, science or social for complete lists of subjectr award winners. Nardin, Williamsville East and Williamsville Nortbh are the only schools to sweep all foursubjecrt awards, while 12 institutions are honored in a singlw field. Principal Kevin Ryan credits longer clasd periods with helping Aldenm Senior High School win its sole subjec awardin science. “Ih both biology and earth science, we have an 80-minut class every day alongb withan 80-minute lab every other day,” he says.
“That givesd us some really concentrated timeon science, whicgh has had positive results.” Private schools are not requiref to administer Regents exams, and Buffalo Seminary, Canisiu High School, Nichols School and Park School of Buffalo are amonfg those that don’t. They have been excluded from theacademi rankings, since Business First lack s the necessary data to generate objectiv e ratings.