Three area high schools have been listed among the nation’s best by U.S. News and World Report.

Bethune-Bowman and Calhoun County high schools once again earned bronze honors in the magazine’s list of America’s Best High Schools, the S.C. Department of Education announced Thursday.

Branchville High School also made the bronze honors list this year.

“This is a huge honor for us here at Branchville High School. We have known for a long time we have a good school here,” Principal David Hess said.

“The congratulations go to the hard work of the teachers and students. They deserve a large portion of the credit,” along with the school board and administration, he said.

The magazine says it evaluates high schools based on how well they educate all students; minority and disadvantaged students’ achievement and college-bound students’ scores on state, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests.

South Carolina had 22 high schools earn places in the gold, silver or bronze categories. Across the nation, 100 schools made gold, 461 made silver and 1,189 earned bronze.

Principals of area schools that made the list credit high standards and teamwork.

“I think it’s a reflection of all the hard work the teachers and the students, along with the instructional team here, have put in,” Bethune-Bowman Principal Parrie Hook said. She said teachers often stay after school to work with students.

Also, “while we’ve increased the rigor in the classroom, we’ve also increased the relevance. We want the students to know how it relates in everyday life,” she said. “We think it helps the students appreciate the instruction the teachers are putting forth.”

She says the school is focused on getting even better: “Next year we’ll shoot for the silver.”

Calhoun County High Principal Cynthia Johnson said of the honor, “We’re very pleased with it and also humbled by it.”

“Calhoun County High School is small, but we have large and high expectations for all of the children in that building,” Johnson said. The school focuses on the three Rs every day: rigor, relevance and relationships.

Everyone at the school is responsible for student achievement and “buy-in from the students helps,” Johnson said.

“They understand the importance of education as a whole. And the parents and the community are part of that as well,” she said. “We do have very hard-working and dedicated teachers.”

“It comes down to one thing: caring about kids. That’s what we do,” Hess said. Many of the teachers are from the area and “they know the kids, they know the parents. That goes a long way.”

There’s also an emphasis on rigor in the curriculum, and preparing students for the work force or attending a two- or four-year college, he said.

“I think we’re doing a great job of preparing kids for the next level and that goes to the efforts of the teachers,” Hess said.

T&D City Editor Gene Crider can be reached by e-mail at gcrider@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5570. Discuss this and other stories at TheTandD.com.

You must be logged in to comment.