32 • Thursday, June 13, 2013
Schools
OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal
OTM High Schools Named Among Best in Nation By William C. Singleton III
F
America’s Best High Schools
Journal contributor
ive Over the Mountain Schools have been named among America’s best 2,000 public high schools, according to annual rankings released by Newsweek. Eight of the 20 Alabama high schools that made the list are from the Birmingham metropolitan area. The Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School was the highest ranked school at No. 15. Mountain Brook High School was the second ranked in Alabama at No. 152. Vestavia Hills High ranked No. 429, Oak Mountain High ranked No. 578, Spain Park High No. 613 and Homewood High No. 1049. Ramsay High (No. 1712) and HewittTrussville High (No. 1910) rounded out the Birmingham metro area schools that made the list. The rankings were based on factors such as graduation rate; college acceptance rate; the number of Advanced Placement, International
Newsweek’s annual rankings of the best 2000 high schools in the nation include five OTM schools. school
rank
Mountain Brook High School
152
Vestavia Hills High School
429
Oak Mountain High School
578
Spain Park High School
613
Homewood High School
1049
Baccalaureate and Advance International Certification of Education tests taken per student in the school; average scores on the AP, IB and AICE exams; percentage of students enrolled in at least one AP, IB or AICE course and average SAT/ACT test scores. Officials for area schools that made the list
say the rankings merely validate what they’ve known all along about their schools. “The Homewood City School District is extremely proud of Homewood High School,” said Dr. Betty Winches, Homewood city schools assistant superintendent for instruction. “Recognition of the accomplishments of our students is extremely important to us. Inclusion in the Newsweek and the U.S. News and World Report rankings of the best high schools in America is a testament to the hard work of a dedicated faculty and staff and a committed student body.” Vestavia Hills School Superintendent Jamie Blair said, “We are very proud that we have been recognized as one of the top 2,000 high schools in America. This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our students, teachers and parents. Not only is it an honor for VHHS, it is an honor for all of our schools. Those type rankings do not occur from a great high school education alone. That process starts early in a child’s life at home and carries on beginning in kindergarten all the way to gradu-
‘Those type rankings do not occur from a great high school education alone. That process starts early in a child’s life at home and carries on beginning in kindergarten all the way to graduation.’ Jamie Blair, Vestavia Hills School Superintendent ation.” Hoover school officials said they were happy to see Spain Park High School make the list. “We are pleased any time our schools are recognized for academic excellence,” said Jason Gaston, a spokesman for the Hoover school system. ❖
School Notes Student Broadcasters Celebrate Successful Year
Bumpus Middle School students are recognized for being inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. Photo special to The Journal
New Members Chosen for Beta Club at Bumpus An induction ceremony and reception was held April 17 in honor of the 52 new National Junior Beta Club members at Bumpus Middle School. A nonprofit, leadership-service club for students in grades 5-9, the NJBC encourages effort, rewards merit and promotes character qualities that make for good citizenship. The newly inducted members include Brandon J. Agsalud, Keaysia Bryant, Jace Coleman, Anna Grace Dickey, Madeline R. Dukes, Claudia Franklin, Sydney Garlington, Drew Guffey, Annemarie Guske, Caroline Guske, Jackson Hankins, Riley Hendrix, Alexander Hinkle, Christopher A. Howell, Patterson Huff, Myracle La’nise Jarmon and Abdulla Jassim. Other students welcomed to the honor society were Jilian Joyner, Austin D. Kamm, Hassan Khadair, Jacob A. Kopkin, Sarah Looney, Spencer Lotz, Karis Simone Luster, Riley Elizabeth Lynch, Avery Markus, Isabella Maske, Erin McAfee, Shaelah McGilton, Ilissa McIntosh-Williams, Braylon Moss, Kerry Murr, Gabriella Muscarella and Mychael Grace O’Berry. Also inducted into the Beta Club were Mit Patel, Chandler David Patterson, Crayton Edward Patterson, Karen Tram Phuong Pham, Lauren Reed,
Riley Rendon, Matthew Rickman, Alison Rocco, Shallah Saadiq, Nathan Solomon, Colton Steinbeck, Kendal Thompson, Tyler Joseph Tucker, Kylie Brianne Vanlandingham, Megan Waldrop, Adam C. Willis, Alexia Michelle Wilson and Makenzie E. Young. Jan Price and Matt Grainger sponsor the club. Seventh-grade students Cassiday Allen, Claudia Cortez, Mackenzie Pitts, Taylor Horne, Rajiv Patel and Jonathan Snell helped usher at the ceremony and served refreshments at the reception.
Highlands Student Wins PBS Writing Contest Harrison Coleman, a third-grade student at Highlands School, placed first in the third-grade division of Alabama Public Television’s 2013 PBS Kids Go! Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. In the contest, students were asked to write poetry or prose about a fiction or non-fiction subject of their choice and create at least five illustrations to accompany Harrison Coleman it.
Coleman’s winning book, “Max Gets Better at Math,” is a motivating story about a mouse who had math trouble but studied his way to acing a test. Coleman’s official recognition will be on June 21 at an awards ceremony at the APT Birmingham headquarters.
Malensek, Layton Dyess, Jayne Smyth, Liza Johnson, Joanna Gaylard, Morgan Bailie, Caroline Christie, Kalvin Robinson and Luis Jimenez. The VNN staff will return to the air when the new school year begins.
The 2012-13 Vestavia News Network staff recently celebrated a year’s worth of broadcasting current news to Vestavia Hills High School. The VNN staff produces the show daily on live closedcircuit television, delivering the news to Vestavia High students and faculty. Instructed by faculty sponsor Deana Goodwine, network members perform responsibilities such as anchor, camera person, director, teleprompter, sound and graphics and video. Staff members The staff of the Vestavia News Network at Vestavia include Deana Hills High School wraps up a successful season. Photo special to The Journal Goodwine, Paris
Shades Cahaba Students Help Community Garden To celebrate Youth Art Month in March, Shades Cahaba Elementary School Art Club’s fifth-grade students put the first work of art in the Homewood City Schools Community Garden. The art piece was a wooden frame featuring nine paintings of owls, representing Shades Cahaba Elementary’s involvement, and images of fruits, flowers and sunshine surrounded by a painting of the silhouette of the Vulcan statue. The frame consists of canvas paintings from eight students and their teacher, Mary Jane Coker. Coker said she intends to keep the wooden frame on display at the garden and have the students replace it with more art when it becomes weathered. Shades Cahaba Elementary School students helped install the first piece of art in the Homewood City Schools Community Garden. From left: Briley Williams, Liza Ashe, Ella Malek, Marcus Yaku, Nicolas Amison and Grissom Pierce. Photo special to The Journal