PRHS is one of the best

Pea Ridge High School is ranked sixth in the state of Arkansas among high schools.

It is among a list of larger schools in the northwest Arkansas area also honored.

“We attribute our success to the School Board, to the administration, to the teachers, to our students and parents — we have great people. Anytime you have great people, you can accomplish great things,” ” Jon Laffoon, PRHS principal, said.

Several northwest Arkansas school officials were excited this week to find out their schools made a national list of the top 1,000 public high schools as well as being listed among the top 10 schools in the state. The list was published this week by U.S. News & World Report. Officials reviewed 31,242 public high schools, according to the U.S. News & World Report website.

Laffoon said schools were judged on several criteria including EOC scores, college readiness index, AP numbers and tests and the graduation rate.

“We’re proud of the recognition; we feel like we’re doing great things for kids,” Rick Neal, superintendent, said. “It’s a great honor. We’re humbled by it.”

Neal said the school has been recognized for the past three years and steadily “moved up the ladder.”

“We’ve never been ranked this high in the state of Arkansas,” he said.

Advanced Placement participation at PRHS is 61 percent. The student body is comprised of 55 percent male and 45 percent female students with a total “minority” enrollment of 6 percent, according to the report. The student/teacher ratio is 17:1.

To be eligible for a state ranking, a school must be awarded a national gold or silver medal. “We are a silver medal school,” Laffoon said.

The other Arkansas high schools from the Ozarks making the top six and their “silver group” national rankings are: Bentonville High, third (improving to 580th nationally); Rogers High School, fourth (837th nationally); Rogers Heritage High School, fifth (885th); and Pea Ridge High School, sixth (890th). Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville was ranked number one in Arkansas.

Schools ranked in the top 500 in the nation are ranked as gold schools, according to the U.S. News and World Report.