U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 Best High Schools rankings were published this week, and Habersham Central is among the schools recognized. Public schools that rank in the top 40% nationally based on performance on state assessments, graduation rates, and how well students are prepared for college are recognized in the rankings.
According to the rankings, Habersham Central is in the Top 35% of all high schools in the nation.
U.S. News reviewed nearly 24,000 public high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the 2018-19 school year. Of those, it ranked 17,857 schools and placed Habersham Central at #6,317. HCHS received an overall score of 64.2 out of 100 based on the publication’s methodology.
HCHS is #141 out of 426 ranked high schools in Georgia.
Based on data provided in the report, HCHS students scored above the state average in both reading and mathematics proficiency, and 30% of HCHS students participated in Advanced Placement coursework.
Superintendent Matthew Cooper says it’s the first time he’s aware that Habersham Central has made the U.S. News Best High Schools list. The achievement accompanies a record graduation rate and record SAT scores in 2020. All evidence, Cooper says, that Central is becoming “one of the best high schools in Northeast Georgia, our state, and now the nation.”
“As superintendent, I want to congratulate the teachers, leaders, students, and staff at Habersham Central for this remarkable accomplishment,” says Cooper.
HCHS Principal Jonathan Stribling calls the U.S. News and World Report ranking “tangible evidence of the exceptional teaching, learning, and positive climate that exist for our school.”
“This recognition is well-deserved and affirms the hard work that the students, teachers, and administrators do on a daily basis,” says Habersham County Director of Secondary Schools, Pam Dalton. “Habersham Central is a top-tier school and is among the best of the best!”
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, ranks #1 in the nation. Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology in Lawrenceville is rated the best high school in Georgia.
For more on this story and to view how other Northeast Georgia schools rank, click here.
