By Brian Hews
Gretchen Whitney High School in Cerritos has been ranked as one of the top fifty public high schools in the United States according a study released this week by BestSchools.org.
“We selected Whitney High School based on a combination of factors, including student ACT and SAT scores, average weighted GPA, API, the number and breadth of AP and Honors courses offered, IB programs, relationships with local colleges, innovative courses of study, diversity of the student body, current student satisfaction, quality and experience of the faculty, and modern lab or athletic facilities,” said James Barham, PhD., General Editor of the on line publication.
In their summary report touting Whitney High School, that is part of the ABC Unified School District, it refers to the campus as “a community academic learning center, with a focus on vocational and educational achievement.”
“WHS offers 12 Advanced Placement courses and 35 Honors courses. The school also has a variety of interscholastic sports and co-curricular activities, which include student government, service organizations, broadcast journalism opportunities, drill teams, and pep squads,” Barham said,
“WHS also has an advanced robotics team and participates in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology),” he told Los Cerritos Community Newspaper.
In the past, Whitney High School has hauled in countless awards including the Blue Ribbon designation from the U.S. Department of Education; a six-time winner of the California Distinguished School award and was the Best Overall Academic Performance in California by BusinessWeek.
The top ranked spot went to The Bronx High School of Science located in New York City. Nearby Oxford Academy in nearby Cypress was ranked #10 in the survey.