High school makes Washington Post list

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. >> Ballston Spa High School was recently recognized on The Washington Post’s list of 2017 America’s Most Challenging High Schools, with prior recognitions in 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

The High School joins Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School as one of only two schools from the region to qualify for this annual recognition. Ballston Spa High School is included as one of about 12 percent of the schools selected for this year’s list, out of approximately 22,000 U.S. public high schools, according to The Washington Post. The qualifications focus on student participation in advanced high school coursework, including Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and the Cambridge University Courses.

“Strength of transcript is a critical piece of the college admissions process, and access to advanced coursework helps position our students to be as competitive as possible,” indicated Superintendent Joseph P. Dragone, Ph.D. Further, “We are constantly expanding our portfolio of advanced coursework, including in 2017-2018 the addition of 18 courses for college credit through our partnership with Schenectady County Community College as well as Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles.”

Ballston Spa instructional staff members are to be commended for their focus on excellence in the classroom as well as providing program access and opportunity for all students. In the past few years, the district has supported participation in the Advanced Placement Program, the administration of the PSAT/NMSQT to all of our sophomores and juniors, offered the Clean Technologies & Sustainable Industries Early College High School and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and increased University in the High School offerings. The school has also recently received recognition from U.S News &World Report, and this year has seen great success beyond the classroom across co-curricular academic teams including Robotics at all levels, Envirothon, Odyssey of the Mind and the KidWind Challenge. Additional information on academic programs is available at www. bscsd.org or by contacting the Ballston Spa High School at 884-7150 ext. 2362.