Spring ISD Early College Academy at Southridge has been named a 2020 Best High School, according to rankings published by U.S. News & World Report.
Early College Academy ranks 305th nationwide and is considered one of the top 50 high schools in Texas, and ranks 14th in the Houston region.
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According to Spring ISD, this is the school’s fifth year making the Best High Schools list since opening in 2011.
U.S. News & World Report ranks schools across the country on criteria, including measures of college preparedness, curriculum breadth, performance on state-required tests, and graduation rates.
“A great high school educates all students from different social and economic backgrounds, exposing them to challenging coursework on the path to graduation,” according to a message on the publication’s website describing how the 2020 Best High Schools rankings are calculated.
At Early College Academy the total minority enrollment is 87%, and 60% of students are economically disadvantaged, the publication reports.
“If you look at the historical planning process for Early College, our program was built to give students – who might not otherwise have an opportunity to go to college – a chance, and to give them the support they need,” Principal Kristine Guidry said.
During the 2019-2020 academic year, the school was relocated to be housed on the Lone Star College-North Harris, allowing the high school’s upperclassmen simultaneously work toward earning their diploma and associate degree.
“A big part of our goal is to target the population of students who want to go to college, but who might not think it’s a possibility for them. That’s the whole premise, to help break through some of those barriers,” Guidry said.