Quote:
Originally posted by AXJules
I never said that I worked for Newsweek and knew in advance what the rankings would be for this year. We have been within the top ten for over 30 years, consistently, so if you want to do it mathmatically it would be fair to say that is where the school HAS ranked. I'm sorry if this wasn't statistically up to your standards.
The other link was posted, we can all check it and see where the school ranks. Don't flatter yourself in thinking you "proved me wrong" in something I never claimed. I'm sorry, I really don't understand where the attitude is coming from. Adding a smiley face wearing some sunglasses doesn't cover up the way you post something.
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AXJULES, I think this post was referring to the post immediately ahead of it. There are a number of different rankings of public schools--this is just one of them. There are more than 14,000 high schools that are eligible for this list--it's still something to be proud of! From the District 225 website, here are the recent accolades GBN has received (I'm not sure how up-to-date this is):
Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching Science, 2001
Named Outstanding High School in America by U.S. News & World Report, 1999
Newsweek Magazine Top 300 Public High Schools, 2000
National Debate Champions, 1974, 1986, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001
Presidential Scholar, 1987, 1993, 1996
As part of the First in the World Consortium, GBN students scored first in the world in international math & science testing.
U.S. Senate Youth Award, '92, '96
USA today Academic All-Star, 1994, 1996
Golden Apple Teaching Award, 1995
Kohl & Tandy Teaching Awards, 1991 & 1992
National Speech Championship, 1990
Sun-Times Top Ten suburban high school, 1984
Excellence in Education Award, U.S. Department of Education, 1984
Named as a Grammy Signature School for excellence in choir, orchestra & band, 2000
The recognition that was most meaningful to me, as a parent in the district was the "Outstanding High School in America" by US News and World Report in 1999 (when this year's Seniors were graduating from 8th grade). Both GBN and GBS received this honor. That recognition evaluated schools for excellence in relationship to expectations. Given the socio-economic status of the district (and the way Illinois funds public education), one would expect GBN and GBS to turn out high achieving students. But that particular report identified schools that had high achieving students who exceeded the expectations based on the income and education levels of the students' parents.
You hear a lot about the "wealthy" nature of Northbrook. And yes, there are some spectacular homes in the area. But there are also a lot of folks who've paid ridiculous prices to live in modest homes so their kids can get the "extra something" a District 225 education can provide. It is a shame that the actions of a bunch of selfish, spoiled girls, at least some of whom have parents who are just as bad, have ruined the reputation of what truly is a fine school.
I've always taught my children that it takes years to build a reputation and minutes to destroy it--this is such an example of that. The local paper ran a story discussing the economic impact of this situation. They quoted some "expert" saying that every home in Northbrook is worth $10,000 less because of it. I'm not sure that's a valid assessment, but I'm sure it will be a negative factor on Northbrook for people for which high school quality is a criteria in their relocation decision.
The village and the district have put together a task force to try to determine the forces at work that made this happen and to take actions to prevent it from occurring in the future. I was in the grocery store in Northbrook over the weekend and every employee in the place was wearing Green and Gold badges that said "Respect Yourself, Respect Each Other". (They were the idea of an eighth grade girl.) I am confident that soon the attention will die down and the school and the village will begin to heal.