Jericho Ranked Second Best School District in the Country

By JOSH ROTHSTEIN

The Jericho Union Free School District has been named the second best school district in the nation by Business Insider. On November 5^th, 2014, Business Insider published an article highlighting an education review site, Niche that ranks every school and district in the nation providing in-depth analyses including evaluations of test scores and student reviews. Jericho ranked very favorably in Niche’s ten best school districts in the United States. 

Niche uses various criteria to develop its rankings. The site grades on an A-F scale using multiple categories including academics, food, student culture and diversity, health and safety, and teachers. Jericho School District Superintendent Mr. Grishman believes that Niche’s ranking is significant because “they included academic achievement measures, but they also looked at another dozen criteria such as diversity, feedback from kids, feedback from parents,  and the breadth of extracurricular and co-curricular activities.” Mr Grishman believes that maintaining this standard begins with the Jericho community. He said, “I think it’s a function of the community we live in that embraces and values education.” Mr. Grishman believes that it is his job to “ensure that we stay focused on all the right things, that we support the right activities, hire the right teachers, and that we continue to invest our funds into programs and into our students.”

Jericho High School Principal Ms. Rosenberg also believes that when it comes to ranking schools, it is not all about data. “It’s not as much about statistics, but more about feedback from students, from parents, and the community, which means a lot more than just numbers.” Ms. Rosenberg believes that the level of commitment from the students, parents, teachers, and Board of Education is part of why Jericho can sustain its success. “We allow students to take their own paths. We have open enrollment in all of our college level and AP classes. I think that allows people to stretch themselves, to try different things, to see what they like and don’t like. Everyone can find his or her niche.”

Both Mr. Grishman and Ms. Rosenberg believe they are mostly spectators, and that it really is the students and faculty that keep the district the flourishing environment that it is.