Nazareth Academy Named One of State's Best Private High Schools

Nazareth Academy ranked among the state’s top 100 private high schools in a recent report from Niche.com.

The methodology ranks 3,880 private high schools on factors of academics, student culture and diversity, and survey responses from current students, parents, alumni and administrators. Nazareth Academy earned 68th place among the state’s top 100 private schools.

The factors were chosen to ”represent a healthy balance between statistical rigor and practical relevance in the ranking,” according to the website. For instance, a high ranking in Academics indicates that students are very happy with the quality of the education they are receiving, perform well on standardized testing and leave the school prepared for college and career-ready.

Academics account for 60 percent of the school’s Niche “grade,” with 30 percent to the student culture and diversity, and 10 percent to survey responses.

Nazareth Academy received an overall grade of B-, with other grades:

• B- in Academics
• B in Educational Outcomes
• B in Extracurriculars
• B in Food
• B+ in Sports & Fitness
• B in Student Culture & Diversity
• C+ in Teachers

In regard to Nazareth Academy’s academics, some high school seniors wrote,

“Although quite challenging, I wouldn’t have wanted anything else to help prepare me for college.”

“If you want to be pushed, Nazareth Academy is the place to go to. They dont call it a College Prep for no reason.”

“Small classes allow teachers to give a lot of individual attention. Teachers go out of their way to make sure all students are on the same track and understand the topic. If student do not understand or would like to spend more time on a topic, the teachers are more then willing to reschedule and adjust their lesson plans.”

In the Sports category, a high school senior wrote,

“They have improved the overall athletic experience over the past few years. They have built new tennis courts, softball fields and improved the basketball court and weight room significantly. They are planning to build 2 new gymnasiums and a wrestling room along with more improved locker rooms and a athletic training room in the next 2 years. As for the fans, they show out to all the football games and where part of the 2014 state championship football team. Other than that, they don’t really show up for much else unless its a senior night or a playoff basketball game.”

Read more commentary and find out more about the methodology at Niche.com.
See what other schools finished in the top 100.

Lauren Traut (Patch Staff) contributed to this story.