KALIDA, OH (WLIO) - A local high school was ranked in the top 2% out of almost 18,000 schools by "U.S. News Best High Schools". It's based on their performance on state assessments and college preparation. Our Madison Kenjura has the story.
The U.S. News Best High Schools Rankings have named Kalida High School the seventh best high school in Ohio, scoring 98.53 out of 100. The school also ranks 260th in the nation.
"Starts in the elementary, just the expectations are high. The community knows that, they support us, the businesses in town, everything's just kind of on the same page to make us, the work ethic behind it and the direction the town, or the village and the schools and everybody wants to go in and that's to prepare our students for the future," stated Carl Lammers, superintendent.
An impressive 79% of the student body is taking advanced placement courses. Their parents, teachers, and community have worked together for many years to provide the best possible education for the students of Kalida High School.
"The first day that the kids come into kindergarten it's a welcoming environment, but again, I think our teachers do a really good job of setting those high expectations, making sure they have the fundamentals that they need, the critical thinking skills, the writing skills they need to be successful in high school, and then we just kind of build off that foundation once they get to the high school and continue to work on those critical thinking skills and those writing skills because at the end of the day that's what will make them successful once they go off and graduate from Kalida High School," explained Dean Brinkman, high school principal.
Principal Brinkman believes in providing teachers with creative freedom to educate their students. This approach has fostered a deeper connection between teachers and students, making the high school a better place to prepare students for their future.
"If it's someone who can, I can kind of sit back and take the lead, I try to do that, kind of like with yearbook just so they can showcase their talents and give their ideas," explained Kaylan Unverferth, high school English teacher.
The students of Kalida High School thrive in the positive environment created by teachers and staff. Many of them have set the personal standard of the perfect 4.0, and while there's a bit of friendly competition, the wildcats often work alongside each other and their teachers to ensure they meet their goals.
"Whenever I need help in a class or hey, you know, what are you doing this period, can I just come down and talk if that's what I really needed. And I mean it was really, I felt comfortable and it's just what school is for me," commented Andrea Burgei, senior class president.
Kalida High School is tied for the #1 spot in the state and country with an almost 100% graduation rate.
Other local high schools to break the top 100 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings include Fort Loramie at 26 and Columbus Grove at 32. Down in Auglaize County, Minster and New Bremen come in at 38 and 70 respectively. Crestview was ranked as the 79th-best high school in the state and Shawnee comes in at number 83. Over 1,000 high schools were evaluated in Ohio and 741 were ranked in the annual report.
