Brighton High School among the best in nation

Students and staff at Brighton High School say that they've known for years that their school is one of the best in the state, if not the country. They recently got some proof to back those statements up.

U.S. News & World Report, a weekly magazine which is well known for their rankings of colleges, released their first-ever rankings of high schools at the end of November and BHS came in as 57 out of 18,790 high schools in 40 states. Some states weren't included because they either didn't make their school's test data available or provided insufficient information.

Brighton received the title of a "Gold Medal School" for finishing in the top 100. There were 405 schools that received a "Silver" ranking and 1,086 were named "Bronze." Rankings were based on three levels of criteria:

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<td>Fast Facts:

Here are the New York schools that placed ahead of Brighton High School on the U.S. News & World Report list, with the number attached the overall ranking of the school, according to the magazine:

15 - Stuyvesant High School, New York, New York County

20 - Bronx High School Of Science School, Bronx, Bronx County

22 - Staten Island Tech High School, Staten Island, Richmond County

28 - Edgemont Junior-Senior High School, Scarsdale, Westchester County

29 - Horace Greeley High School, Chappaqua, Westchester County

39 - Brooklyn Tech High School, Brooklyn, Kings County

43 - Great Neck South High School, Great Neck, Nassau County

45 - Townsend Harris High School, Flushing, Queens County

50 - City Honors School, Buffalo, Erie County

52 - Rye High School, Rye, Westchester County

55 - Scarsdale Senior High School, Scarsdale, Westchester County

57 - Brighton High School, Brighton, Monroe County</td>

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If students performed better than the average student in the state in standardized reading and math test scores;

If the least advantaged students such as black, Hispanic and low-income also performed better than average for similar students in the state;

College-readiness based on Advanced Placement classes, participation rate in AP classes among students and scores on AP tests.

There were 11 other schools from New York ranked ahead of Brighton High School, 10 of which are in the New York City area. The closest high school geographically to Brighton that also received a Gold Medal title was the City Honors School in Buffalo. Overall, 96 schools in New York were named to one of the three categories and 18 of them were "Gold" schools.

"I wasn't really surprised," said senior Jake Ark, 17. "Brighton's just a really solid school."

To rank schools for the first time, U.S. News & World Report Executive Editor Brian Kelly said the magazine partnered with School Matters, a school evaluation company that compiles data of test scores and student population. He said the magazine has wanted to put together a ranking of high schools over the last 20 years, but hasn't been able to do so until now because the No Child Left Behind act has made it easier to get test performance data.

"To be a top high school, it means they can do a lot there and they're serving a (wide) population," Kelly said. "At the end of the day, they are performing at a high level across the board."

The magazine used two key numbers to determine their ranking. One formula is called the "college readiness index," which uses information from AP testing among the school's students. Based out of a possible 100, Brighton scored a 69.2. They also averaged almost four AP tests for every student that took an AP class, according to the report.

"It's a tribute to the kids, faculty and the community, but the community has always been incredibly supportive of education," said Brighton High School Principal Nancy Hackett. "Talk to the people of the Class of 1957 and they'll tell you the same thing. Education has always been a high priority in Brighton."

Junior Jordana Gilman said she's seen that passion and commitment from residents, but especially from students in the halls at BHS. She said that the magazine's ranking of Brighton came as no surprise because of the hard work she sees from everyone involved with the school.

"Each of the students here competes with him or herself to be the best and there's really an emphasis on self-accomplishment," said Gilman, 17. "The support system is really strong."

Gilman went on to also point out the diversity of the student population, something Superintendent Dr. Chris Manaseri also believes is a strong point of what makes the high school successful.

"The cultural diversity of the community is evidenced in the school and it's almost like a mini university," Manaseri said. "It's one of the things that people of Brighton appreciate."

Hackett said that appreciation is really what helps to make the school tick. From kindergarten up until students reach the high school, she said that a good foundation of education district wide has helped to make students successful once they reach their last four years of education in Brighton. Senior Will Cho, 18, added that over his four years at Brighton High School, he's seen the programs and environment get better and better.

"I wasn't that surprised about the rankings (because) it's just a very comfortable environrment between students and teachers," he said. "We always try to keep our reputation up within the school."

Bryan Roth can be reached at (585) 394-0770, Ext. 270, or at broth@mpnewspapers.com.