North among nations’ most challenging schools
North Fort Myers High School has always been known throughout Lee County as one of the best high schools.
The proof came from teacher Jennifer Curls, who said she has one student in her class who has a 4.0 grade point average, which puts him solidly at 80th in his class.
That’s right. 80th!
Last week, a study done by the Washington Post confirmed that not only is the school one of the best in the county, but in the entire nation.
North High landed at No. 108 on the list of “Most Challenging High Schools” in the United States, according to the paper, making it one of the highest-ranked school in Southwest Florida.
North was the highest rated school of all Lee County public high schools. Only Oasis High School, a public charter school in Cape Coral, ranked higher, at No. 64.
North principal Matt Mederios said it’s a testament to the quality teachers and students who take care of business on a daily basis.
“Our students take their education very seriously here, and they push themselves to new levels in the most rigorous coursework in the world with the Cambridge AICE program,” Mederios said. “Students are able to dive in and demonstrate their academic ability.”
North students in 2015 brought home more than $2.1 million in scholarship money among 137 students. Of 347 graduates, 294 had plans to attend some form of college.
Most important, virtually all the students who attend North graduate.
Mederios said the secret to their success is the amount of advanced coursework they have, not only through Cambridge, but other advanced classes, dual enrollment courses where students also receive college credit, industry certification classes, and the school’s immersion in the arts.
“Our being an arts school has helped us. It brings in students who are here for a purpose. But the biggest factor is the Cambridge AICE program, which has grown like crazy over the last six years,” Mederios said.
North was among 10 Lee County schools to make the list and 373 in the state.
The list was compiled by the paper using a “Challenge Index” to rate public high schools. Only 2,300 of the nation’s 22,000 public high schools managed to reach the minimum standard of the index, which places North in the Top 1 percent of high schools in the country.
The Challenge Index is determined by the total number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Cambridge tests given at a school each year divided by the number of seniors who graduated. With a few exceptions, public schools that achieved a ratio of at least 1.00, meaning they had as many tests in 2015 as they had graduates, were put on the list.
Other Lee County schools to make the list include; Fort Myers (242), Gateway Charter (266), Cape Coral (473), Estero (792), Cypress Lake (1454), Mariner (1495), Riverdale (1528), Dunbar (1894) and Island Coast (2147).
“It’s a testament to the rigorous curriculum and coursework being offered. When you offer things like International Baccalaureate and Cambridge, that seven of our 13 schools offer, the variety of advanced coursework and Project Lead the Way, it raises expectations for students and that students will rise to the occasion,” Mederios said.