All three high schools in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) district were ranked as the top traditional high schools in North Carolina, according to a survey released by U.S. News and World Report.
East Chapel Hill High School was ranked the highest out of any traditional high school in the state, followed by Chapel Hill High School and Carrboro High School. All three schools received gold medals, an honor only given to 17 high schools in North Carolina.
“We are honored that the report rated our schools so highly,” said Superintendent Pam Baldwin. “However, we still have work to do to ensure all of our students leave school prepared for future endeavors.”
According to a press release from CHCCS, the U.S. News and World Report rankings are based on certain criteria, including graduation rates, enrollment and the availability of AP classes. However, they also take into account other factors such as diversity and performance on state achievement exams.
However, Jeff Nash, a spokesperson for CHCCS, said that despite the high rankings, CHCCS has one of the largest educational achievement gaps in the country. According to U.S. News and World Report, East Chapel Hill High School had a 33 percent achievement gap on state proficiency exams between students who are historically underserved and those who are not.
“We’re producing a great education for some of our kids, but some of our kids are struggling,” he said.
According to Nash, the funding for individual schools did not play a major role in how the schools were ranked within the district. However, CHCCS receives a significant amount of its funding from resident taxes.
“Chapel Hill residents tax themselves at a higher rate than just about anybody in the state,” he said. “The per-pupil funding that we get in this district is higher than all of the school districts in the state.”
Nash also said that some of the district’s greatest strengths are not necessarily represented in the rankings since they are outside of the scope of academics.
