Area Schools Ranked Among The Best By U.S. News & World Report
AP Graphic
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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Reader Reactions
Jake, your stories are far too common not only around here, but most places. As I’ve said hundreds and hundreds of times, if only the general public (tax payers) knew how our schools are run they’d be outraged. Administrators know this, which is why they keep things very quiet. The media seldom gets a hold of the things that happen on a daily basis is schools.
Administrators love to push stories about students who have perfect attendance, or who win awards, athletic accomplishments, etc. Those things should be published, for sure. But the other side should also be made public.
One good article in the newspaper about these things would get some people stirring, and some administrators sweating. Oh, how I’d love to see that happen.
Good job farmer. You told the truth in the story beyond! As far as VHS, you are correct, nothing is said about the threats to students from other students, drugs, alcohol use, discipline in this school(very little this year), the number of cars that have been keyed or vandalized by the students, how every one cheats in class and the teacher don’t care (good grades?), anonymous threating letters that have been sent to students homes, harsh and threatening comments on my space from other students, nor how the freshman class has their hair pulled by upper classmen, or even gum stuck in their hair when they are in the hall, the list goes on.
How about those mountain of rules and policies which are rarely enforced? You can threaten to kill someone and attend school at VHS.
Also, why did over 50 students leave VHS to go to John Battle this year?
Congratulations to the schools honored. Many students and teachers work very hard on a daily basis, and this is part of their reward. Great job!!!
Now, for the story beyond the story. This was written about yesterday in the School Survey story. The media should tell the whole story about our public schools. They (media) struggle to do that because school administrators make great efforts to keep certain things away from them. How about drugs in the schools? How about the lack of discipline in schools? How about how teachers get little, if any support, from administrators? How about weapons being found in in schools? Supposedly there’s ZERO TOLERANCE for weapons, isn’t there? Usually the students involved get a second chance, or multiple second chances.. How about a mountain of rules and policies which are rarely enforced? How about instances when students miss 50 to 75 days per year (unexcused) then end up passing?
School administrators are running scared today like most people would never believe. They’re so scared that a parent will become upset and show up to complain. In may schools, teachers are told just how many (a percentage) of students are allowed to fail. One I heard recently was 10%. If a teacher’s failure rate rises above that, well, that teacher had better be ready to explain why he/she had such a high failure rate. Administrators don’t like to hear the following…1.) Many students simply don’t care. 2.) Many students sleep through entire classes. 3.) Many students get little guidance from home. 4.) Many students are aware that teachers must pass X amount of students, therefore they know they don’t have to do much. There are more examples, but I trust anyone reading this gets the picture. Young people are smart. They know how it all works. They laugh daily as they beat the system.
I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM ANY PUBLIC SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR. JUST ONE!! PLEASE COMMENT HERE AND TELL THE TRUTH!! HOW MUCH OF WHAT I’VE SAID HERE IS FALSE? YOU KNOW IT’S THE TRUTH. YOU KNOW YOU ALLOW STUDENTS AND PARENTS TO RUN THE SCHOOLS BECAUSE YOU’RE SO SCARED OF HAVING TO DEAL WITH AN UPSET PARENT. PLEASE TELL THE TRUTH.
Again, congratulations to the area schools who were recognized for excellence. You (students and teachers) are doing great in spite of some cowardly leaders.
Congratulations to the schools that made the list. Unfortunately and by no surprise to many of us, it is a shame that Tennessee High couldn’t be ranked among those as well. The school needs an overhaul on sticking to the guidelines and rules they lay down for the students. As well as giving the classrooms back to the teachers to be able to teach and not babysit.
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