DeBakey HS for Health Professions named best public high school for 14th consecutive year
Park Place ES, T.H. Rogers each ranked number one in two different categories
Nearly 100 campuses in the Houston Independent School District have received high rankings on Children at Risk’s annual list of best public schools in the city’s eight-county region, with DeBakey High School for Health Professions once again declared the best public high school in the area.
Park Place Elementary School and T.H. Rogers School each received number one rankings in two different categories.
Park Place is number one on the list of Consistent Gold Ribbon elementary schools. It is also number one on the list of Pandemic Proof elementary schools because it has received high marks from Children at Risk for three consecutive years.
T.H. Rogers, which is a Pre-K-8 campus, is ranked number one among public elementary schools and middle schools.
The rankings were released today at a virtual news conference. View here.
Children at Risk’s categories for 2020 included best public elementary, middle and high schools, Consistent Gold Ribbon schools, Pacesetter schools that are on track to becoming Gold Ribbon schools, Top Graduation campuses, Pandemic Proof schools that have performed excellently for three consecutive years, and Racial Equity campuses that are achieving significant academic results with Black and Hispanic students.
Other HISD campuses that received number one rankings include:
- Eastwood Academy High School – Pandemic Proof (high school division)
- Energized for STEM West Middle School – Racial Equity (middle school division)
- Holland Middle School – Pacesetter (middle school division)
- Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men – Top Graduation Rates
“Achieving excellence, especially in the face of unprecedented challenges, is never easy, which makes the accomplishments of our top-ranked schools even more impressive this year,” HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “We continue to work hard to uphold the highest academic standards and produce exemplary results for our students. To see some of our Achieve 180 campuses highlighted and recognized this year is major. We have invested staff and resources to improve outcomes on those campuses. This is a proud day in HISD.”
This year’s number one ranking for DeBakey HS marks the 14th consecutive year it has earned the top spot among public high schools.
“There are a lot of good schools out there, and we all work extremely hard,” DeBakey Principal Agnes Perry said. “It is great to be recognized once again this year for the standards we set and the goals we achieve at DeBakey.”
Last year, T.H. Rogers School ranked second on both the best elementary and middle schools’ lists.
“This year we could not be prouder to receive our number one rankings from Children at Risk,” T.H. Rogers Principal Tiffany Chenier said. “Our community was determined to overcome every obstacle we faced in order to demonstrate how capable our students are, including our special needs students. Also, I must recognize our parents who are a major contributor to our success.”
Last year, Park Place Elementary ranked fourth on the list of Gold Ribbon campuses, which are recognized for having high achievement rates despite high poverty rates.
“To receive a double victory by moving into the top spot on this year’s Gold Ribbon list and the top spot on the Pandemic Proof list is an incredible accomplishment for our campus,” Park Place Principal Nimmi Thomas said. “I am especially grateful to our teachers, many of whom are veteran educators who have been here for 12 to 15 years.”
Children at Risk ranked 1,371 public schools in the Houston area. Due to the pandemic, this year’s rankings were determined using a three-year analysis of campuses’ performance during 2017, 2018 and 2019.
HISD SCHOOLS IN THE TOP 10
BEST HIGH SCHOOLS
Ranking School Name
#1 DeBakey High School for Health Professions
#3 Eastwood Academy High School
#5 Carnegie Vanguard High School
#6 East Early College High School
#7 Challenge Early College High School
#9 Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy
BEST MIDDLE SCHOOLS
Ranking School Name
#1 T.H. Rogers School
#4 Mandarin Immersion Magnet School
#5 Project Chrysalis Middle School
#6 Lanier Middle School
BEST ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Ranking School Name
#1 T.H. Rogers School
#9 River Oaks Elementary School
#10 West University Elementary School
CONSISTENT GOLD RIBBON SCHOOLS
Ranking School Name
#1 Park Place Elementary School
#2 Lyons Elementary School
#3 DeAnda Elementary School
#5 De Chaumes Elementary School
#8 Sanchez Elementary School
#9 Joe E. Morena Elementary School
TOP GRADUATION RATES
Ranking School Name
#1 Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men
#3 North Houston Early College High School
#4 Eastwood Academy High School
#8 East Early College High School
#10 Houston Academy for International Studies
BEST RACIAL EQUITY SCHOOLS
Elementary
Ranking School Name
#2 Lyons Elementary School
#3 Burbank Elementary School
#4 DeAnda Elementary School
#6 Park Place Elementary School
#9 De Zavala Elementary School
#10 Windsor Village Vanguard Magnet Elementary
Middle
#1 Energized for STEM West Middle School
#2 Sharpstown International School
#4 Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy
High
#2 Eastwood Academy High School
#3 Challenge Early College High School
#4 East Early College High School
#5 Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy
#6 North Houston Early College High School
#7 Sharpstown International School
#10 High School for Law and Justice
PANDEMIC PROOF SCHOOLS
Elementary
Ranking School Name
#1 Park Place Elementary School
#2 Lyons Elementary School
#3 Burbank Elementary School
#4 DeAnda Elementary School
#8 De Chaumes Elementary School
Middle
#6 Burbank Middle School
#7 Stevenson Middle School
#8 Hamilton Middle School
PACESETTER SCHOOLS
Elementary
Ranking School Name
#4 Looscan Elementary School
Middle
#1 Holland Middle School
#3 Forest Brook Middle School
High
#1 Eastwood Academy High School
#2 East Early College High School
#3 North Houston Early College High School
#5 Jane Long Academy
#6 Jones Futures Academy
Campus administrators at schools ranked highly by Children at Risk said the challenges brought on by the pandemic required innovation and resilience to maintain high academic standards and meet students’ educational, social and emotional needs.
For the list of Children at Risk Houston area school rankings, click here.
Children at Risk is a nonprofit child advocacy organization that ranks and grades public schools in Texas for the purpose of informing the community and inspiring change as needed.