District 204 High Schools "Top in the Nation"

Earlier this week, Newsweek magazine released its 1,300 Top U.S. High Schools list, with Waubonsie Valley High School included in the top five percent of public schools across the country. The Indian Prairie community was pleased that Waubonsie Valley made the list for the second year in a row, but was puzzled as to why Neuqua Valley was omitted. Administrators contacted Newsweek's staff, who acknowledged the oversight and agreed that Neuqua Valley should have appeared on the list too. The corrected list will be updated next week on Newsweek's website at http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380/?q=2008/rank/1/

Newsweek's list is a national ranking based on a formula that divides the number of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) tests taken by students into the number of graduating seniors from approximately 27,000 of the nation's public high schools. The data used is from May 2007.

District 204 offers students 27 different AP courses that provide the opportunity for students to tackle college-level academics. Across the district, more than 2,350 AP tests were taken in 2007. That number is expected to grow next year as the district anticipates a 37 percent enrollment increase in AP courses.

Superintendent Stephen Daeschner said he was glad to see Newsweek recognize Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley again this year. "We are very proud of both of our high schools. Having both our schools make this list is a nice affirmation of the work being done to best prepare our students for college."