The Preuss School UCSD Again Named Nation’s Top Transformative High School By Newsweek

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The Preuss School UCSD––a charter middle and high school for motivated, low-income students who strive to become the first in their families to graduate from college––has been named the top transformative school in the country by Newsweek magazine for the third consecutive year. In Newsweek’s “America’s Best High Schools” issue released yesterday, the school was lauded for its ability to prepare low-income and first-generation students for college and beyond.

Jointly chartered by the University of California, San Diego and the San Diego Unified School District, Preuss is located on the UC San Diego campus.

“Preuss graduates are excellent scholars and citizens who are bright, motivated and eager to learn,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “The strength of education is upward mobility, and the Preuss School is an excellent example of education transforming lives.”

In order to develop the list of transformative high schools, Newsweek multiplied each top school’s score by the percentage of students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, a leading indicator of socioeconomic status. The overall ranking for each school is based on the graduation rate, college-bound rate of graduates, Advanced Placement participation and test scores.

“Our students challenge themselves in and out of the classroom,” said Scott Barton, principal of The Preuss School UCSD. “Their ingenuity and drive consistently produce successful results: Nearly 95 percent of our graduating seniors are accepted to four-year colleges and universities and almost 100 percent go on to some form of higher education.”

This latest announcement comes on the heels of another recent ranking by U.S. News & World Report in which Preuss was named as the best high school in San Diego County and the 4th best high school in California. In addition, The Washington Post named Preuss as one of “America’s Most Challenging High Schools.” Preuss was rated the 3rd most challenging high school in California and 29th in the nation.

At Preuss, more than 800 students come from throughout San Diego County to participate in a single-track college preparatory curriculum and take advantage of an array of academic supports including tutoring, mentoring and counseling. Each Preuss student takes at least six AP courses in high school with many students taking up to nine or 10 AP courses.

For more information on Newsweek’s “America’s Best High Schools,” go to http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/features/2012/americas-best-high-schools.html. For more information on The Preuss School UCSD, visit http://preuss.ucsd.edu.