Archive: Around Town

Lansing High School was identified as one of the top high schools in the United States in a U.S. News & World Report study of 21,069 high schools across the nation.  In the pool of schools that met all required standards, the top 100 were awarded gold medal recognition and another 504 received silver medal standing.  Lansing is listed among silver medal schools, which represent only 2% of all schools considered.

"You can't achieve this type of recognition without outstanding leadership at the building level," says Lansing School Superintendent Stephen Grimm.  "You have to have a building leader that can culminate all those different ideas about what the school is all about and who we're going to serve.  This award recognizes service to all students."

Schools that attain gold and silver medal standing must meet three criteria.  They must exceed statistical expectations of performance levels across all demographics as measured by state test scores in core subjects, achieve proficiency rates on state tests for its least advantaged students, and prepare students for college as measured by Advanced Placements or International Baccalaureate exams.


Lansing High School Principal Michelle Brantner says students achieve at high rates here because they are taught above the standards required by state and federal education departments.  Brantner says that approach is a long standing Lansing tradition.  " I would love to take responsibility, but that is the culture of the school," she says.  "My job is to provide them with the support to continue to do that.  If you support your teachers and you have conditions that allow them to do their jobs, then they can continue to do that."

Grimm also credits the wider community for student success.  "We have a nice partnership of community, parents, and teachers working together to help build that web of support around our children," he says.

The analysis stresses high achievement for disadvantaged students as much as for average and above average children.  Lansing's score was 90.9% disadvantaged student's state proficiency rate, versus a 94.2% non-disadvantaged student rate.  Last year's graduating class achieved 100% graduation and college acceptance, a remarkable feat for any school.

Schools must have a minimum of a college readiness index of 20 in order to make the gold/silver rating.  Lansing scored 40.9.  Lansing was one of two Tompkins County schools that ranked a silver medal.  Ithaca High School also received the honor.


Another standout statistic is the school's 45.2% Advanced Placement participation rate.  Brantner says you can teach an AP class that is not certified, but Lansing makes a point of getting every AP class certified, and every AP teacher goes to special training before the class is offered.  "They are all very rigorous courses," she notes.  "Anybody who is taking AP classes -- I would say they are harder than a lot of freshmen entry-level college courses."

This is the second year U.S. News & World Report has ranked the nation's high schools.  "I think the real value of rankings, if they're done well, is that they become useful instruments to help demystify institutions and even promote best practices," says the magazine's Editor Brian Kelly.  "We appreciate the power that comes with publishing such information and work to use it responsibly."

Grimm says that consistency and high standards throughout the school district contribute to performance once students make it to Lansing High School.  He says all teachers and staff across the district share in the high school's honor.  "It's a 13 year process," he notes.  "The high graduation rate, the high achievement rate -- those are all based on a system that is designed to create exactly that.  It starts in Kindergarten.  The challenge is trying to align practices, methodology, and curriculum so we can continue to get those results."

And he adds that qualifying for silver medal status this year doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of hard, continued work to do in the future.  "We graduate students every year and we have new ones coming in," he says.  "So we have to do it all over again.  We can't take any of our success for granted."

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