Contact: Valerie Burke
Director of Community Education Services
952-848-3960
valburke@edina.k12.mn.us

Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Edina High School is the only Minnesota High School to Make U.S. News’ “Best High Schools for Math and Science” List

Edina, Minn., October 4, 2011 – U.S. News & World Report has named Edina High School one of the "Best High Schools for Math and Science" in the nation. Edina was ranked 187 out of 207 qualifying high schools and is the only school in Minnesota to make the list.

"We're deeply honored to be part of the list, especially as U.S. News now uses a myriad of data points to establish the ranking. It's about performance rather than just emphasizing the number of tests taken," says Bruce Locklear, Ed.D., EHS principal. "But at the end of the day it's about the great job that our teachers are doing in the classroom to establish rigor, rapport, and relationships with our students."

This is the inaugural year for the U.S. News & World Report's ranking category for science and math. Initially, qualifying schools had to first make the U.S. News' list of "Best High Schools", which included 598 high schools. Eligible schools were then judged on their level of math and science participation and success on advanced placement (AP) and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) course test data.

"The ranking is reflective of the focused effort the District has made over the last decade in revamping our science and math coursework and professional development," says Jenni Norlin-Weaver, Ed.D., Director of Teaching and Learning for Edina Public Schools. "We're piquing the interest of both girls and boys by introducing them at an earlier age to engaging STEM coursework which then provides our students with more opportunities to take advanced classes. We also flipped our science sequence to offer physics as an entry point to chemistry and biology as studies have shown that physics lays the groundwork for better understanding those fields."

As a result of these curriculum changes, the District has seen a jump in the number of students taking regular and advanced math and science courses. Norlin-Weaver also credits this rise in interest to the implementation of Project Lead the Way in sixth grade to allow for continuous, rigorous STEM coursework from middle through high school.

About Edina Public Schools
Edina Public Schools has six elementary schools (K-5), two middle schools (6-9), and one senior high (10-12).  As Independent School District No. 273, it serves a large portion of Edina, a first tier Minneapolis suburb comprised of approximately 47,000 people.  The Edina school system – with 578 teachers and 8,300 students – is consistently ranked as one of the best in the nation and is known for its educational excellence, with over 90 percent of high school seniors going on to college. Its web site is at www.edina.k12.mn.us.