On April 25, the U.S. News & World Report released their national rankings of high schools. Western Center Academy came in #137 nationally and #15 in the state of California. Southern California boasted 10 schools in the top 25 statewide. In collaboration with North Carolina Based RTI International, U.S. News & World Report ranked more than 17,800 high schools for this year’s rankings and considered 24,000 schools before making their selections. A comprehensive evaluation that relies on data from the U.S Department of Education, considered factors such as graduation rates, college readiness, reading and math performance, and state assessment proficiency, to determine the rankings. The school further ranked #2 for all Riverside Metro High Schools and #36 for all Charter High Schools in the United States, with an overall scorecard of 99.23.
Western Center Academy, which opened in 2010, prides itself in being a leader in education through their innovative approach to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. This innovative approach to STEM includes daily lab sessions where students learn through inquiry-based learning models that allow them to explore subjects like paleontology, robotics, forensics, coding, and geology to name a few. Additionally, Western Center Academy has a unique partnership with the Western Science Center where students have access to museum discovery based learning that is experiential, active, participatory and uses real specimens during instruction. These strategies and focus are meant to prepare students for a successful future in STEM.
“It has been amazing to see the dedication and resilience of our students, staff and community as we have continued to maintain a high level of excellence in all of our endeavors,” stated Executive Director Paul Bailey. “I am extremely proud of the continued focus on outreach by our Mammoths to help inspire and support our surrounding schools.”
Congratulations again to the entire Western Center Academy school community for this outstanding achievement!