Madison schools ranked high in NICHE 2019 Best Schools
Madison Elementary named best elementary school in the state
MADISON – Madison City Schools placed in the top 50 in a “Best Schools” ranking of nearly 11,000 public school systems in America. The latest NICHE education study ranked MCS 46th. That’s out of 10,768 school districts nationwide.
Individual MCS schools also did outstanding, with nearly all landing in the top 1 percent in America.
In its Alabama rankings, NICHE named Madison Elementary as the best elementary school in the state and 87th overall among 50,458 nationwide. That was followed by Columbia Elementary (2nd in Alabama), Mill Creek (4th), Heritage (5th), West Madison (8th), Horizon (11th) and Rainbow (14th).
Discovery Middle ranked 2nd and Liberty Middle 4th among 383 middle schools in Alabama. NICHE placed DMS and LMS 161st and 212th respectively among 23,632 middle schools nationwide.
Bob Jones placed 3rd and James Clemens 6th among 355 high schools statewide. Nationally, BJ and JC ranked 297th and 494th respectively out of 19,314 public high schools across America.
The 2020 NICHE outcome for Madison is incredible in a district with 11 schools and enrollment just under 12,000.
Schools Superintendent Robby Parker said being in the top 1 percent or less in almost every category is a reflection of a “true community effort” that everyone can be proud of.
“Certainly, the kids and the teachers and staffs in our schools are key,” Parker said. “They are the ones where the magic happens every day. I think what this really shows is that no matter where you live in Madison, no matter what level your child is at – elementary, middle or high school – he or she will go to one of America’s best schools. That has been one of our cornerstones. We have to rezone sometimes which is not easy. But we do that to ensure that schools are demographically equal in order that every child can attend one of the best schools in America. We’ve accomplished that and will fight hard to continue that.”
The NICHE says it bases its annual evaluations using a variety of criteria including state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores, teacher quality, public school district ratings and opinions from students and parents.
