Memorial High School Principal Steve Shorter and Westchester Academy for International Studies Director Pamela Butler received Top 10 awards on behalf of their campuses.

Nonprofit researchers with the education, research and advocacy group Children at Risk have awarded Top 10 rankings this year to Memorial High School and the high school at Westchester Academy for International Studies, the district’s public charter middle and high school campus.

Memorial High was rated No. 6 overall among schools in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, as well as Friendswood and Galveston. During its first evaluation, Westchester Academy’s 500-student high school campus ranked No. 8 overall.

Children at Risk awarded its No. 1 rating this year to Yes Prep Public Schools-Southeast, located near Houston’s Hobby Airport.

Overall, four of the district’s high schools occupied Children at Risk’s top two tiers, ranking either very near or among the top third of all campuses rated. In all, 145 schools were ranked.

Stratford High was rated No. 14 in the region; Spring Woods High tied for No. 51 with Katy ISD’s Mayde Creek High School.

The Children at Risk study analyzed 14 indicators, using a weighted formula to rate schools representing more than 50 regional school districts.

“We’re dedicated to seeing that all children in Houston and the greater region go to school and have a school where they can achieve. Fortunately, we have wonderful examples here today of what these schools should look like,” Children at Risk’s President and CEO Robert Sanborn said.

During a March 31 press conference and awards presentation, Sanborn said that this year’s Top 10 schools were competitive with any top school across the nation, based on qualifying factors ranging from school size and curriculum rigor to student engagement and parental support.

Memorial High Principal Steve Shorter and Westchester Academy Director Pamela Butler joined eight other area principals at Monday morning’s recognition event.

“As long as we have had rankings, Memorial High School has been a top school,” Sanborn told those gathered inside Yes Prep’s gymnasium. “As we look at scoring, I sometimes feel that Memorial will continue to be here for as many years as we do scoring. One of the keys that comes across is that both students and parents are engaged at Memorial High in ways that many suburban high schools wish to be. They are indeed a model for many of our school districts.”

On behalf of Memorial High students, staff and parents, Principal Shorter thanked the group for its commitment to improving the lives of children and its interest in education. “I’d like to thank Children at Risk for this honor and for providing data to give us benchmarks on where we are doing well and where we may need to do better,” he said.

Westchester Academy Director Pamela Butler said that Children at Risk’s rankings, first published in the Houston Chronicle, led to an incredible campus response this week. “This is an honor for our school and community. I envision all of our students, staff and parents standing here with me today to accept this recognition,” she said.

Factors assessed in the Children at Risk rankings include a high school’s four-year graduation rate; student readiness for college based on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) exams in English language arts, math, science and social studies; average SAT and ACT scores; completion of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or community college dual enrollment classes; average class size; and the percentage of students who completed the Texas Recommended High School Plan.

In addition, the percentage of economically disadvantaged students attending a high school was one of the weighted factors.

The region’s top high schools, as ranked by Children at Risk:

1.     Yes Prep Southeast Campus (Charter)
2.     DeBakey High School for Health Professions (Houston)
3.     High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Houston)
(Tie) Clements High School (Fort Bend)
5.  Cinco Ranch High School (Katy)
6.  Memorial High School (Spring Branch)
7.  Taylor High School (Katy)
8.  Westchester Academy for International Studies (Spring Branch)
9.  High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (Houston)
10. Austin High School (Fort Bend)

To read more about Children at Risk, visit www.childrenatrisk.org or call 713-869-7740. To read the Houston Chronicle’s news story, please visit http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5659163.html.

podyrf 04-02-2008