Thursday, October 1, 2026
South Side High School is one of only a small number of open-enrollment public schools to be ranked among the top 25 high schools in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report, which released its 2012 rankings on May 8.
South Side ranks 22nd in the nation out of 22,000 evaluated schools, according to the magazine, and second in the state, behind the Baccalaureate School for Global Education in Long Island City.
“Most of the schools on the list select their students,” said South Side Principal Dr.Carol Burris. “There are not many open-enrollment high schools, and to be one of the few is pretty impressive.”
Many of the high-ranking schools are either charter schools, which are publicly funded and do not follow all local and state educational regulations, or magnet schools, which offer specialized curricula and have selective admission. Charter schools are usually in high demand, and admission is often offered through a lottery.
South Side’s gold medal ranking, denoting a school in the top 500, was in part a result of its students’ results in standardized math and English tests. The school also rates well in “college proficiency,” which is based on success in college-level coursework and exams. In South Side’s case, college proficiency was evaluated mainly through the International Baccalaureate program, which the school adopted more than 20 years ago and offers to all of its students. The I.B. curriculum for high school students can lead to a diploma that is accepted by many colleges and universities across the world.
“There’s a very strong emphasis on writing and a strong emphasis on critical thinking [in the I.B. program],” Burris said. “It really taps into a lot of the multiple intelligences of students, and I think it makes it easier for students of a wide range of experience to have success.”
The ranking also took into account South Side’s ethnic and economic diversity. According to the report, minorities make up nearly a quarter of the student population, and more than 10 percent are economically disadvantaged.
“That was one of the most gratifying pieces being acknowledged because you have to … demonstrate that all of your children, including children that receive free and reduced-price lunch and students of color, are exceeding their peers across the state,” Burris explained. “We give everybody the best curriculum we have to offer, and we don’t sort kids into groups and say this student can take I.B. and this one can’t.”
When U.S. News last published high school rankings, in December 2009, South Side was ranked 44th out of 1,800 schools the magazine evaluated. Burris cautioned that while the jump in the school’s ranking this year was welcome, its significance should not be overstated.
“It’s important to keep in mind that the distances between one school and another [in the top 100] are not that great,” she said. “I think what means a lot is to be on the list and in the upper half. The goal is to do the good work that we’re doing, and every now and then get a nice pat on the back.”
District Superintendent Dr. William Johnson said that the high school ranks high because of the support students receive beginning at a young age. “At the end of the day, we attend to all of the kids in the school district,” Johnson said. “We have discovered that with appropriate support, everyone can achieve results that we didn’t think were possible a generation ago.”
The complete U.S. News 2012 high school rankings can be found at http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/national-rankings.
