Stevenson ranked for helping all students

Compliments don't shock anyone at Stevenson High School.

The Lincolnshire school, after all, has cultivated a reputation for excellence over the years, one that's garnered many awards and put it near the top of the list in rankings by national magazines.

But the latest honor from U.S. News and World Report, which ranked the school the 77th best public school in the nation, has special meaning, official said Friday.

"It's nice because the recognition addresses how schools reach out to their disadvantaged students," said Stevenson High School District 125 Superintendent Eric Twadell. "We like to think we're creating equitable educational opportunities for all kids."

And the researchers at the magazine agreed.

According to U.S. News and World Report, 18,790 schools were examined using data from the 2005-06 school year. With an eye toward college readiness and how economically disadvantaged students perform, schools were examined through a variety of levels.

Alabama, Alaska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, and Washington, D.C., did not provide 2005-06 data for the study. The magazine also left out Mississippi, Montana and Nebraska, saying "they provided insufficient 2005-2006 assessment data to complete the analysis."

Stevenson was one of only six Illinois high schools to make the top 100 and win gold medal status. Some 24 other state schools, including Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Glenbrook North, Lake Forest, Libertyville and Vernon Hills, earned silver medals. Twenty-three Illinois schools -- none in the Northern suburbs -- were named bronze medal winners.

Coming in near the top of that list tells Stevenson it's doing something right.

"Any time a nationally known magazine lists your school as one of the best, it's a tremendous boost," spokesman Jim Conrey said. "It shows people that our teachers are doing a great job."

John Carter, assistant principal for teaching and learning, attributes some of the school's immense success to early intervention programs.

Carter said as soon as three weeks into the school year, struggling students will find themselves supported by a variety of intervention activities.

Among them are guided study halls, tutoring and parent/counselor alliances.

"We'll have some type of indication of how they're doing in their course work," Carter said. "In my experience, that is one thing that sets us apart from other schools."

Twadell said waiting until a student has failed classes and may be feeling discouraged isn't ideal.

"That's the difference between remediation and intervention," he said. "By then, that's too late."

Twadell adds that Stevenson was the only school outside the Chicago Public Schools system to be awarded a gold medal in the rankings.

"That was validating," Twadell said. "We did feel really good about it."