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Razidlo: Newsweek rates BHS 833rd out of top 1,000 schools in nation BRAINERD SCHOOL BOARD Staff Writer Brainerd High School was ranked 833 out of the top 1,000 schools in the country by Newsweek magazine, BHS principal Steve Razidlo told school board members Monday.
The ranking is based on the number of advanced placement and/or international baccalaureate exams taken by high schools in 2005 divided by the number of graduating seniors. BHS has made the list a few times in recent years and was ranked 620th last year. BHS fell into the 345th spot during a similar Newsweek analysis in 2000. The list represents the top 5 percent of high schools across the country.
Of the 17 Minnesota high schools listed in the top 1,000 American high schools by Newsweek, Brainerd was the only outstate high school in the state, according to Brainerd Assistant Superintendent Gary Phillips.
BHS was ranked 11th in the state. The top Minnesota school ranked by the national magazine was Edina High School, which has 8 percent of students who qualify for free or reduced lunches, said Phillips. BHS has 28 percent of its students who qualify for free or reduced lunch. Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis was ranked sixth in the state and has the largest number of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch at 74.8 percent.
Razidlo said BHS students are hard at work now as they take their end-of-the-year AP exams. Students are expected to take more than 620 AP exams this month, he said.
Since the board was discussing the academic achievements of the district's students, Superintendent Jerry Walseth wanted to also mention other good happenings in the district. Walseth deferred to board member Ruth Nelson, who reported that the fifth-grade Math Masters teams from Forestview Middle School did well at their competition in Bemidji last Friday. Eight teams of five students each competed against 32 other schools. Six of the eight teams placed at the competition, sweeping the awards. The six teams won first, second, third, fourth, fifth and eighth place at the event. Nelson is a volunteer Math Masters coach.
The board approved an agreement with Project Lead The Way, a non-profit corporation that works with school districts, colleges and universities and the private sector to provide high school and middle school pre-engineering curriculum. Starting next fall and thanks to a $65,000 two-year grant, the Brainerd School District will provide pre-engineering courses for all students, beginning in seventh grade.
The board approved unrequested leaves of absence for the following teachers: Katherine Davis, Susan Kavanaugh, Jennifer Pelowski and Laura DeChaine.
The board accepted the resignation of Janelle Ortiz, Early Childhood Special Education teacher at Whittier.
The board hired Dana Hasselberg, BHS math teacher, for this fall.
The board approved requests for World Language trips abroad.
JODIE TWEED can be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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