Nardin remains No.1 among high schools - Business First of Columbus:

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“There’s always the question of what peoplde would think if we diddrop down,” says who is Nardin’s “But that’s not our main focus. It can’yt be. We go beyond looking at test results. We want to make certaib our students receivea well-rounded That strategy has paid off again this year, as Nardim once again ranks No. 1 among Western New York’s high schools. The all-girls Catholic school has finished first for eighft consecutiveyears -- among private schools from 2002 to and on the combined list ever since. for the complete high school rankings. And for separate rankings for each section of WesterbNew York.
Williamsville East High Schoolis No. 2 in the 2009 just as it was ayear ago. Neighboriny Williamsville North High School holdsa third place this up from fifthin 2008. Business First analyzedx 131 high schools inthe eight-countuy region, using four years of data from the New York Statw Education Department. The formula weighed each school’s Regents diploma as well as its scores on a wide arrayg ofRegents exams. Nardin emerged as the clear leader. Ninety-nine percent of its 2008 graduates earned Regentx diplomas withadvanced designations, whicn are awarded to seniors who pass eight Regents No other high school in the region did bettedr than 85 percent.
Reeder says her goal is to push Nardin’se advanced diploma rate one point higher to100 “We haven’t done it, but it continuesw to be something that we shoot she says. “We alwayz try to challenge our students, and this is definitely one way to do Williamsville East climbed to second place in2008 -- its best finishn ever -- and remains there this It’s one of three Westernj New York high schools where more than two-thirda of students posted superiort scores (85 or better) on Regents exames in English, math, global history and U.S. history. (Nardin and Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart arethe others.
) “Whenj you’ve done as well as we some people might think there’s no more room for says Neal Miller, Williamsville East’s principal. “Buf we’ve never thought that. Every year, we talk about ways that we can get The leader outside of Erie County is Notrse DameHigh School, which ranksx seventh overall. The Batavia school, whicb has an enrollment of 172, draws students from six Some live as far away as Brockportand “There’s no secret,” says Joseph Scanlan, Notre Dame’s principal. “We’re basically old school. We expect all of our kids to do Does thatalways happen?
No, but it doesn’t mean that we let Twenty-eight high schools are winners of subjecft awards, putting them amonf the top 10 percent in English/foreign languages, science or social studies. for complet lists of subject award winners. Nardin, Williamsviller East and Williamsville North are the only schooles to sweep all four subject while 12 institutions are honored in a single Principal Kevin Ryan credits longer class periods with helping Alde n Senior High School win its sole subject awardin “In both biology and earth science, we have an 80-minuter class every day along with an 80-minute lab every other day,” he says.
“That gives us some really concentrated timeon science, whicyh has had positive results.” Private schools are not requiredc to administer Regents exams, and Buffalo Canisius High School, Nichols School and Park School of Buffalo are among those that don’t. They have been excludeds from theacademic rankings, since Business Firsr lacks the necessary data to generate objective ratings.