Redwood High School

Three local high schools ranked in top 500

Summit Preparatory High in Redwood City was at the top of the San Mateo County schools with a rank of 132. Only two other schools in the county earned a spot on the 500-school list: Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, ranked 225; and Mills High School in Millbrae, ranked 244. Last year, nine schools in San Mateo County earned the ranked and three schools from Palo Alto or Los altos were included in the list which was over triple the current list size.

Summit also earned a new distinction as one of the top 10 Miracle High Schools. The Miracle High School list includes schools with an added challenge of taking students at all skill levels and graduating qualified students. Schools within the top 500 were considered for this list. The school’s score was multiplied by the percentage of students who qualified for free- or reduced-price lunch. Schools with merit-based admission policies were ineligible.

“We believe that every student can achieve at the highest academic level if given the opportunity and the right support,” Summit Prep Executive Director Todd Dickson wrote in a prepared statement. “It’s exciting to watch our students successfully rise to the challenge of college level coursework, especially considering that about 75 percent of our students would not be in the [advanced placement] track at a traditional comprehensive high school.”

Previously, Newsweek ranked public schools according to a ratio created by Newsweek education reporter Jay Matthews. The number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Cambridge tests taken by all students at the school in a given year was divided by the total number of graduating seniors. Noting that this could skew results, the formula was revamped this year.

There were six components created after talking to a group of experts — Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach For America; Tom Vander Ark, CEO of Open Education Solutions and the former executive director for education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford professor of education and founder of the School Redesign Network. The formula includes graduation rates (25 percent), college matriculation rate (25 percent), and AP tests taken per graduate (25 percent), plus average SAT/ACT scores (10 percent), average AP/IB scores (10 percent) and AP courses offered per graduate (5 percent).

A Glorious Graduation Week for the High School District - Belmont ...

More than 1,000 bright high school students with promising futures from the Sequoia Union High School District attended their commencement ceremonies this past week.

From Redwood High School, graduates "went through hell to get to heaven," said Valedictorian JaShawna McGehee. But they beat the odds and proved to the non-believers that they could pull themselves up and graduate from high school .

At Sequoia High School, students--from the Valedictorians to the first in their school to graduate-- were honored with their high school diplomas . This was the first Sequoia High School class that stayed all four years "before we became a popular school to attend," said Principal Bonnie Hansen. "For that, they will always have a special place in my heart. Before the presentation of diplomas, Hansen personally called out individual students for their impressive accomplishments.

At Woodside High School, 365 proud seniors received their diplomas in front of their friends and family. Valedictorian LeeAnn Patrick said she knows that everyone from her class would be successful because they all went through the experience together. From UC Berkeley to the Military to San Jose State, the seniors will be scattering all across the country.

Carlmont High celebrated its 57th Commencement by presenting more than 500 students their coveted diplomas. “Let the marathon begin!” shouted 2011 Carlmont Salutatorian Jhoong Roh shouted "Let the marathon begin!" reminding his class that "This is a beginning, not an end." Roh told his fellow classmates the future will be a marathon, and reminded them of the skills they’ve learned to succeed.

At Menlo-Atherton High, the 60th annual commencement ceremony led 377 students to their diplomas . Graduation speaker Rebecca Strehlow said she and her fellow classmates would just be "tossed into the world that awaits us. We will dive."

Student to student, across the generations: memories of high school days

The Cowhide - a High School Football Tradition

Report of the Education Department

Redwood High School yearbook

Scholastic Journalism