News Release - NEWSWEEK Ranks Fourteen San Diego High Schools Among Best in U.S.

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News Releases

NEWSWEEK Ranks Fourteen San Diego High Schools Among Best in U.S.

San Diego High School of International Studies Named Top Urban School in California

Media Contact: Dick Van Der Laan (619) 725-5578
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Revised May 5, 2006

SAN DIEGO – Fourteen high schools in the San Diego City Schools district have been honored by NEWSWEEK magazine as the best in the U.S. in its annual issue ranking America’s best high schools.

San Diego High School of International Studies ranked 22nd on the prestigious list, making it the highest-ranked urban high school in California. The newsstand version of the magazine also included University City High School, Scripps Ranch High School and John Muir School. In updates added to the magazine’s website today, ten additional San Diego schools have been ranked on the list. With 27,468 public high schools in the U.S., making the NEWSWEEK list is significant.

The complete list of Best High Schools in the U.S. now includes:

San Diego High School of International Studies	School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA)
Mira Mesa High School	Point Loma High School
Serra High School	Mission Bay High School
La Jolla High School	Madison High School
University City High School	Clairemont High School
Scripps Ranch High School	John Muir School
Patrick Henry High School	Gompers High School

The schools are honored for doing the best job of preparing average students for college by offering rigorous curriculum. Scores are determined by dividing the number of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) tests taken at a school by the number of graduating seniors. NEWSWEEK editors say they believe students at the recognized schools “have an edge, no matter their economic background.”

“These schools show that high quality and public education can be synonymous,” said Dr. Carl A. Cohn, superintendent of San Diego City Schools.

The high ranking for San Diego High School of International Studies recognizes its rigorous International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum which enables students to learn through interdisciplinary, inquiry-based study. With the help of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) methodology, the top-ranked California urban high school “provides academically challenging instruction and strong encouragement for a diverse student population,” explained Principal Karen Wroblewski.

“We are very honored to have received this recognition,” said Wroblewski. “It’s a result of dedicated staff members and students who aim high and excel. This is a world-class school.”

The NEWSWEEK distinction for San Diego High School of International Studies comes shortly after one of the school’s biology and computer science teachers, Tim Towler, was named the district’s High School Teacher of the Year for 2006-2007. A top social studies teacher at the school, Stan Murphy, was also named the district High School Teacher of the Year for 2004-2005, and was named a California State Teacher of the Year for 2005-2006.

About NEWSWEEK
With the Best High Schools list, NEWSWEEK recognizes schools that do the best job of preparing average students for college. By dividing the number of AP and IB tests taken at a school by the number of graduating seniors, it measures how committed the school is to helping kids take college-level courses. View the story and related articles at www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12532668/site/newsweek/

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