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Middle College High School listed as one of America’s Best High Schools
Middle College High School (MCHS) has been listed as the best public high school in the county and one of the best 2,000 public high schools in the nation, according to the 2010 “America’s Best High Schools” report by US News and World Report. This is the third consecutive year that MCHS has been listed.
Middle College High School is a Lodi Unified high school that is located at San Joaquin Delta College. Students have access to Delta’s facilities and faculty, allowing them to take college courses and use the labs, library, tutoring center, and other Delta College services.
The study, based on state testing known as the Academic Performance Index (API), was intended to ensure that schools were evaluated on the performance of all students including those that are economically disadvantaged.
“The best high schools,” stated Standard & Poor’s School Evaluation Services report, “serve the least advantaged student groups by producing proficiency rates on state tests for black, Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged students that exceed state averages for these groups.”
The study evaluated high schools throughout the nation by first looking at schools that did well in their state tests, and then added their percentage of economically disadvantaged students.
Delta College's Dean of Planning, Research and Institutional Effectiveness, Matt Wetstein said, "What makes a school receive recognition is not only having overall API scores that are high, but scores earned with large numbers of economically disadvantaged students. This means MCHS students are outperforming similar students from across the state."
Only two other San Joaquin County high schools made it to the list, Benjamin Holt College Preparatory Academy and Walton Development Center, both located in Stockton. But according to the study, Delta’s Middle College outperformed both.
“This study implies that Middle College may be the best high school in the county,” Wetstein said, “and it puts them in the top ten percent of the state.”
Middle College students have the advantage of regularly attending college classes and immersing themselves in a college environment. Wetstein adds, “The bottom line is, the report is evidence of the value of the Middle College approach: Challenged students with college level courses as soon as possible.”
For more information on Delta’s Middle College H.S., contact MCHS Principal, Sherry Balian at: (209) 954-5794, or, sbalian@deltacollege.edu
Delta College Middle College High School Students at work.
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