West is Best!
Photo by Arianna Pappas
Recently, Niche.com released a list of the top private, public, and charter schools located in New York. Niche.com produces a list of the top 100 schools on Long Island every year and schools are eager to see if they hold a spot on the list. Niche determines their list by evaluating the academics, teachers, and health/safety of the school. These rankings come out every year and both Hills East and West look forward to seeing how they compare with other schools in the area.
According to Niche.com, the average AP enrollment at Hills West is 33% and the average graduation rate is 96%. The list had Half Hollow Hills High
School West ranked at number 23 on Long Island and it was the 33rd best public high school in NY.
In Suffolk County, High School West is ranked #1!
Half Hollow Hills High School East ranked 39 on Long Island and was the 47th best public school in NY. This comes as a shock to many students, parents, and teachers since East and West are typically ranked close together. Many clubs and sports are combined, and teachers across both schools often work together. Furthermore, both schools offer the same AP courses.
When asked about Hills West’s ranking, Mr. Mirchel, a physics teacher in our building, said that “I am proud of the level of community we have at Hills West.” He went on to say that at Hills West the teachers work extremely well together and are collaborative. As a result of this, it shows in the types of students we have at Hills West.
The communication with teachers and students is a major part of why Hills West is extremely successful as a public school on Long Island. In an interview with Layla Warshaw, a Hills West Student, she said that “The kids at our school are competitive, which pushes them to work harder and be successful.” Students at Hills West are constantly challenging their peers to be a better version of themselves. The competitiveness of our students is what makes our school one of the best schools to attend on Long Island.
One aspect of the ranking criteria that Hills West excels at is the Health and Safety category. At Hills West, administrators make it their priority to make sure every child is safe and enforce procedures to make sure this happens. Because of these characteristics, Hills West has earned a spot as the #23 best school to attend on Long Island!
