Two District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), where average SAT scores exceed 1500, are among "Newsweek" magazine’s 2011 lineup of America ’s Best High Schools.
Benjamin Banneker Academic and School Without Walls Senior high schools were noted among 1,100 schools -- placing respectively, at numbers 239 and 269. Both schools are located in Northwest and enroll students in grades nine through 12. They also boast graduation and college-bound rates near or at 100 percent.
"I want to congratulate the students, parents, teachers, and administrators at Benjamin Banneker Academic and School Without Walls Senior High Schools for being named two of "America’s Best" by "Newsweek" magazine," City Council Chairman Kwame Brown said in a statement. "Acting Chancellor Kaya Henderson also is to be commended for her leadership of the public school system that produced these outstanding results."
Brown added that as the parent of two DCPS students, he was pleased that the District’s education reform efforts "are taking hold and delivering the kind of outcomes we had hoped for."
According to a "Newsweek" statement, the publication has been ranking the country’s top public high schools for more than a decade.
However, its methodology was restructured this year to involve a panel of experts who were charged with developing a guideline that would adequately reflect a school’s success turning out both college-life-ready students.