Why Are Some High Schools Better than Others? You may have heard the saying, “The only two things certain are death and taxes.” There is a third certain thing that most of us must face at one point or another in our lives — high school. Some high schools will provide an environment that is conducive to learning while others may not. The following are three reasons why some schools are better than others and what you can do to ensure your child attends one of the best.

Some schools are able to provide a safe, clean, and structured learning environment. Teachers can teach without interruption because cell phones aren’t ringing (or students aren’t texting), the PLC meetings go well, and parents aren’t complaining to teachers about other parents. Other schools may have more difficulty in providing this environment. What can you do?

1) Work with teachers: Teachers don’t need to be babysitters; they need to teach kids. However, it’s up to parents to work with the teacher in the classroom to keep distractions away from the teacher – and the kids – during class time. It’s also up to parents to work with teachers outside of school hours when issues arise (and they always do).

2) Talk with your principal: If you have concerns about how your child

The only surefire way to ensure that your child will be successful is to make sure that he or she attends a top high school. There are many factors that go into determining what makes the best high schools, but three of the most important ones include the school’s curriculum, its faculty and the diversity of its student body.

Many students go to a high school that is not the best one for them. This may be because they are unaware of the variety of schools available, or because they do not have access to information about their options. Some students have parents who do not care as much about education as others, while others may be too young to make such an important decision.

TIP

The reasons for this are complicated, but I was struck by two main factors that many of the schools had in common.

First, the high school that is typically ranked as

The goal of the career and technical education (CTE) program at my high school was to prepare students for careers in business, healthcare, and information technology. But after two years at the school I felt unprepared for anything.

In a school like mine, students are given opportunities to learn about their interests. They can take classes in things they’re interested in like graphic design, hospitality management, Microsoft Office, or web development.

The problem is that not everything is taught equally well. If a student is interested in something that’s not taught well at their school, it’s likely that student will leave the program feeling disappointed and uninspired. And if a student has no interest in any of the classes offered by their school’s CTE program, then CTE isn’t likely to be a good fit for them.

Research shows that students who attend high-achieving schools are more likely to graduate high school and go on to earn bachelor’s degrees than students who attend low-achieving schools. But there is not a simple formula for what makes a school successful.

Tucker High School is one of the highest-achieving schools in the state of Virginia, yet only about 50 percent of its students graduate within four years. Compare this to Thomas Jefferson High School, which has a graduation rate of over 90 percent.

There is no single factor that determines whether or not a high school will be successful. Here are three key factors that affect graduation rates:

1) The education level of teachers

2) A school’s culture

3) The resources available to the school

1.  Family environment. The family is the most important part of a child’s life because it is where he or she first learns about relationships, attitudes and feelings of others. If the parents are married and have a good relationship with each other, they can provide more stability to their children and help them be more successful in school. Family activities like going out to dinner, attending church together, or just spending time together can help a child get ready for school.

2. School environment. Teachers and administrators may be the second most important factor in a child’s success in school. They not only teach lessons and give tests but also work with students to make them ready for assignments, offer encouragement to keep them on task, and offer guidance when they begin applying for college.

3. Social environment . Children who have friends at school are less likely to get into trouble and do better academically than those who are alone or who spend too much time with negative peers. Friendships are often formed in the classroom through discussions with others about assignments or through extracurricular activities like clubs, sports or drama clubs.”