Area high schools dot magazine’s ‘best’ list

About 15 Mountain Empire high schools, including Bristol’s Virginia High, have been recognized among the best in their respective states and the nation by U.S. News & World Report magazine.
Working with a firm called School Evaluation Services, the magazine examined academic and enrollment data of more than 21,000 high schools nationwide. Based on that data, the magazine selected the top 100 as Gold Medal Schools, and awarded silver, bronze and honorable mentions to hundreds of other schools.
The ranking process included measuring how schools stacked up against state proficiency standards and how they prepared students for college.
All of the Mountain Empire schools on the list received at least bronze rankings. That honor, according to the report, was given to schools where students were performing better than statistically expected for the average student in the state and where least-advantaged students (black, Hispanic, and low-income) also were performing better than average for similar students in the state.
In addition to Virginia High, the 45 Virginia high schools making the list included Appalachia, Castlewood, Lebanon, Pound, St. Paul, and eight others from Southwest Virginia.
“We are very proud of our teachers and students for their hard work and dedication,” Virginia High Principal Martin Ringstaff said. “We will strive to improve in all areas to keep Virginia High School as the flagship school of Southwest Virginia.”
Virginia High received a bronze rating, and Ringstaff predicted the school could earn a better finish next year because its advanced placement offerings will be expanded through an online program.
Ringstaff said the recognition came as a complete surprise.
“I got an e-mail from a company trying to sell me a plaque about the honor, but I didn’t know what they were talking about. Right after that, I got the letter from U.S. News and found it online,” he said.
Wise County’s three smallest high schools – Appalachia, Pound and St. Paul – also made the list, each earning an honor of bronze.
“We’re certainly proud of those schools and the recognition they received,” county schools Superintendent Jeff Perry said. “But we’ve got a lot of very exciting, neat things happening in this division.”
During the past year, the Wise County School Board has wrestled with a plan to close some high schools and consolidate students into new buildings.
Perry said schools with smaller populations typically do well in such rankings.
Other area Virginia schools making the list were Council, Ervinton, Grundy, Haysi, Hurley, Thomas Walker, Twin Springs and Twin Valley.
The only two regional schools from Tennessee on the list were University High in Johnson City, which received a silver ranking, and Volunteer High in Hawkins County.
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