US NEWS and WORLD REPORT RANKS CERRITOS GRETCHEN WHITNEY HIGH SCHOOL #1 IN CALIFORNIA -- #3 in AMERICA!!!

By Randy Economy

(Cerritos, CA) -- Our very own Gretchen Whitney High School has been named as the 2010 TOP ACADEMIC HIGH SCHOOL in CALIFORNIA and THE 3rd BEST HIGH SCHOOL IN AMERICA according to a report published today in the US News and World Reports.

The report showed that students that attend Whitney HS  (located on Shoemaker Avenue between 166th and Artesia Boulevard here in Cerritos) are 100% College Ready, and 100% of the students are in Advanced Placement courses.

We have always known about the smart students here in ABC Unified, and this ranking of Whitney High School proves that public education is ALIVE and WELL here in our own community.

This is amazing and wonderful news for the ABC Unified School District and for our entire community and tonight I wanted to make sure that I shared it with all of you.  Pick up the latest edition of the US News and World Report for the entire story!

Here are the TOP HIGH SCHOOLS in AMERICA for 2010:

# 1 Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
      Alexandria, VA
# 2 International Academy
     Bloomfield Hills, MI 
#3 Whitney High School
    Cerritos, CA
#4 Oxford Academy
   Cypress, CA 
#5 School for the Talented and Gifted at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center
    Dallas, TX
#6 Newcomers High School
   Long Island City, NY
#7 Pacific Collegiate School
   Santa Cruz, CA
#8 School of Science and Engineering Magnet
  Dallas, TX
#9 BASIS Tucson
  Tucson, AZ
#10 International School
  Bellevue, WA
#11 High Technology High School
 Lincroft, NJ
#12 Academic Magnet High School
 No. Charleston, SC 
#13 IDEA Quest Academy and College Prepatory
  Donna, TX 
#14 Pine View School
 Osprey, FL 
#15 Design and Architecture Senior High School
 Miami, FL
#16 KIPP Houston High School
 Houston, TX 
#17 Stanton College Preparatory School
 Jacksonville, FL
#18 The Early College at Guilford
  Greensboro, NC
#19 The High School of American Studies at Lehman College
 Bronx, NY 
#20 Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School
 Montgomery, AL
#21 University High School
 Tucson, AZ
#22 California Academy of Math and Science
 Carson, CA
#23 Animo Leadership Charter High School
 Inglewood, CA
#24 Raleigh Charter High School
 Raleigh, NC
#25 Lennox Mathematics, Science and Technology Academy
 Lennox, CA

Here is some AMAZING Demographic STATS about Whitney High School:

Enrollment 984
Minority Enrollment (% of total) 11.5%
Black Enrollment (% of total) 1.9%
Hispanic Enrollment (% of total) 9.6%
American Indian Enrollment (% of total) 0.0%
Asian Enrollment (% of total) 84.9%
White Enrollment (% of total) 3.7%
Economically Disadvantaged Student Enrollment (% of total) 11.0%

Overall Student Performance
State Test Performance Index 985.0
Poverty-Adjusted Performance Index 2.40

Disadvantaged Student Performance
Disadvantaged Students' State Test Proficiency Rate 100.0
Disadvantaged Students Performance Gap 49.3
Non-disadvantaged Students' State Test Proficiency Rate 100.0
Current State Test Achievement Gap 0.0

College-Ready Student Performance
College Readiness Index 100.0
Quality-Adjusted Exams Per Test Taker 4.1
Participation Rate 100.0%
Quality-Adjusted Participation rate 100.0%
Participant Passing Rate 98.3%
Exams Per Test Taker 4.5
Exam Passing Rate 92.2%

Advanced Placement Student Performance
Quality-Adjusted AP Exams Per Test Taker 4.1

AP Participation Rate 100.0%
Quality-Adjusted AP Participation Rate 100.0%

AP Participant Passing Rate 98.3 %
AP Exams Per Test Taker 4.5




Whitney High School's mission is to prepare students for entrance to and success at their best match colleges or universities and we are extremely successful in achieving this purpose. College summary data for the recently graduated Class of 2009 indicates that: 13% of Seniors selected California private colleges, 23% opted for private colleges out of state, 38% enrolled in the University of California schools, 14% chose California State Universities, 9 % now attend Community Colleges and 2% qualified for Military Academies.

To support each Senior class member in their college acceptance decisions, the Whitney High School Guidance Team helped them earn over $8 million in scholarships.

Gretchen Whitney is a former President and Member of the ABC School Board, as well as a Past Mayor and City Councilwoman in the City of Artesia.  She is seen here with ABC School Board Members Mark Pulido and Shopia Tse at a recent community reception.  Mrs. Whitney, into her 90's now,  still lives here in the Artesia community and visits the campus as often as she can.  She must be very proud of her students this wonderful night of celebration!

RrE