Staples High School Sports Ranked Among State's Best

With high school football playoffs in full swing, now is a good time to take a look at the top-ranked high school sports programs in the country and more importantly right here in Connecticut.

Niche.com, which reviews school systems across the country based on data and surveys, has compiled the “2016 Districts with the Best Sports in Connecticut” list.

The list goes from 1-100 in Connecticut. In Connecticut the top 5 high school sports programs are Glastonbury High School at No.1, followed by Fairfield Warde High School, Darien High School, Daniel Hand-Madison and Simsbury High School.

Nationwide, the top 5 high schools sports programs are: No. 1 Glenwood High School in Illinois; No. 2, East Grand Rapids Public School in Michigan, No. 3, Summit Senior High Schools in New Jersey, No. 4, Souhegan Cooperative High School in New Hampshire, and No. 5. Eden Prairie Public Schools in Minnesota.

The rankings are largely based on staff and student feedback followed by the number of students who participate in athletics, the percentage of females and males enrolled on sports teams, and the number of sports offered by the high school.

Nationwide Glastonbury is ranked 14th overall, while Warde is No. 29, Darien, No. 31, Hand, No. 39, Simsbury, No. 74, Ridgefield, No. 90, and New Canaan, No. 92.

Staples High ranked 16th and has 33 sports, 24.5 percent of females play sports, 31.1 percent of males play sports and $20,694 is spent per student. Parent and student surveys were 4.2 out of a max of 5.