Which are the best high schools in the U.S.?

[battleknight24]

Public and Private... just academically, overall...

* * * * *

By the way, which public and private high schools have outstanding drama/theater departments

[MontecitoDem]

1. San Francisco -

Lick-Wilmerding High School.

Funny name, amazing place. Private School. Check out their site: www.lwhs.org

[bluestateguy]

2. You might want to look at an exam school

Like Boston Latin, Brooklyn Tech or Lowell High School in San Francisco.

[battleknight24]

3. Exam School???

...

[bluestateguy]

5. Public high schools where you have to apply and take a test to get in.

n/t

[battleknight24]

6. Duh... I should have known that...

... its pretty late, and I'm pretty tired...

[St. Jarvitude]

4. New Trier and Stevenson High Schools (Illinois) are top-rated

My experience with a lot of people from these high schools is that they are extremely pretentious. Other people are pretty cool, though.

So I wouldn't really call them "the best"... the best is BGHS baby :D

[eyesroll]

22. I'm a Stevenson grad, and I'll agree with you on that.

$40,000 cars in the student lot, $200 prom tickets. There is an enormous sense of entitlement among many AESHS grads. It took me a long time after graduating to shake that "you didn't get as good an education as I did, so I'm better than you are" mentality, and to figure out that education and idiocy aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

Growing up, I suppose you could call me upper-middle class -- not Long Grove rich, but doing quite well. My friends mostly lived in -- GASP! -- apartments and townhouses. They were considered "poor" by Stevenson standards. (In reality, maybe 1% of Stevenson students get free or reduced-price lunch -- and, at least when I was there, it was staggering the number of people who used their parents' divorce to qualify. Spousal support and child support don't count as "income," nor does support given by a non-married partner of the custodial parent. My friend Jason's mom's live-in boyfriend was loaded, and child support payments were generous, and his mom didn't work, so he qualified for free lunch. Again, the entitlement mentality.)

But, still, I did get an outstanding education (as you would have at BG). I had access to AP courses, strong extracurricular activities, and a spectacular facility (clean, well-maintained, air conditioned). I'm lucky.

[cap]

7. Phillips Academy...

3 theaters...state of the art electronics...video department...

Overall English department is incredible.

Plus, the speakers that come through are awesome...

If you are really talented, they have the connections to get you internships with good university departments while you are still in high school.

I had a room-mate that they were offering a semester at Pratt.

[bicentennial_baby]

13. Andover or Exeter?

I like them both, but Andover has a killer endowment. I went to NMH myself, and got an excellent education!

[cap]

21. Andover...

although I wouldn't recommend it to a shy sensitive type... very competitive environment.

[Burma Jones]

8. In the DC Area:

PUBLIC:
Thomas Jefferson High School in Fairfax County, VA
Langley High School in Fairfax County, VA
George Mason High School in Falls Church, VA
Richard Montgomery High School in Montgomery County, MD
Wooton High School in Montgomery County, MD
Whitman High School in Montgomery County, MD
Blair High School in Montgomery County, MD

PRIVATE:
Georgetown Prep
Maderia
Bullis
Sidwell Friends
Landon
National Cathedral
St. Albans

[ACK]

10. One of the biggest reasons we moved to Northern VA area

Incredible schools.

BTW, Loundon County schools highly under-rated especially next to some of the Montgomery County schools.

[Burma Jones]

11. True, Montgomery County Schools vary greatly in academics

Blair and Richard Montgomery are Magnet Schools and Wooton and Whitman are in very affluent areas. Since Montgomery County has gone to some lengths to diversify its population, many of the schools serve very high concentrations of lower income and immigrant families. This skews the test scores. BUT, Montgomery County has done a lot to reduce the test score gap between Whites and Asians on one hand and Blacks and Hispanics on the other.

[ACK]

12. Wait a sec not trying to put down on Montgomery County

Just trying to compliment Loundon County schools many of which I feel according to more varies measures are at least equal to many of the highest rated Fairfax and Montgomery County schools.

Schools vary in every system. Sorry if what I said sounded like a diss on the MD schools. They are excellent. My wife is a teacher in Loundon. Everyone has a lot of respect for the schools the original poster mentioned.

_

[Burma Jones]

14. I didn't think you were dissing....

Loudoun is growing fast, and has a very nicely educated as well as affluent population. I assume that Loudoun Schools are up there with the best that Fairfax and Montgomery have to offer, it's just that they haven't been around for a gazillion years yet so I don't know any specifics.

[ACK]

16. Cool I had four reasons for moving to Northern VA

1. Tech jobs (I am a Unix Sysadmin)

2. Good schools (some of the best on East Coast)

3. Well planned communities (kind of odd but I live in South Riding and you would have never seen a community put together like this in Atlanta burbs)

4. Close to DC and access to lots of wonderful educational events to enjoy with the kids. (The only cost is actually getting to them which is higher than I thought but oh well...)

Good place to raise kids. Could not imagine being single here. Kind of slow. But good place to have a family.

_

[Meshuga]

9. Not mine...

But I think one of the best is in Arlington, VA (DC metro area) which I think you have to be accepted.

[noonwitch]

15. Private-Cranbrook in Birmingham, MI.

From what I've seen, it's a very good educational experience, with an on-campus science center and a backround as a "Friends" (Quaker) founded institution. I'm pretty sure the Society of Friends is no longer running it.

Interlochen Arts Academy is also an excellent private boarding school for kids who are extremely talented. It's also a good refuge for those kids, who don't always fit in well at regular public schools.

I went to a terrific public school, so I can't complain about my experience. I went to East Kentwood High School in suburban Grand Rapids, Michigan. We had advanced-level classes in most subjects, good arts and athletic programs and a really nice school building. Our field house, pool and auditorium were better than some colleges had at the time.

[bif]

19. Grosse Pointe South and Grosse Pointe North H.S.

Are both excellent schools in Southeast MI.

[tjwash]

17. Not the one I went to.

nt

[ScreamingMeemie]

18. Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School.

Not as inflated as Cranbrook, which is a "prestige" school now basically. 99% college of choice placement. 98% scholarship. Can't beat that. :hi:

[Monte Carlo]

20. Boston Latin Academy is known for being great academically...

... it's the nation's oldest public school, and it is very hard to get into; an exam must be passed first. Some parents with too much money rent apartments in Boston for their kids to live in just so they can go there.

[midnight armadillo]

23. Sudbury Valley School

I didn't attend, and I don't know if it's the best, but it sure as heck is different:

http://www.sudval.org/

The school is governed by staff, students, and parents. There is no curriculum - there are no classes.

Quote:
Students (from age four on up) are free to do as they wish during the day, as long as they follow the school rules .... The campus is "open" and most students come and go as they please, without having to check with an office or other such nonsense. No one is required to attend classes and, indeed, classes are rare and bear little resemblance to the usual notion of a "class." There are no tests or grades of any kind. Students and staff (teachers) are equal in every regard. The students and staff refer to each other by first name, and the relationships between students and staff can't easily be distinguished from the relations between students.