Nine Green Dot High Schools Ranked Among Best in the U.S.

Nine Green Dot schools are among America’s best high schools, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 Best High School Rankings. The schools included among the top 10% of high schools in the nation are Ánimo Leadership, Ánimo Inglewood, Ánimo Pat Brown, Ánimo Jackie Robinson and Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo Charter High Schools. In addition, Ánimo Watts, Ánimo South Los Angeles, Ánimo Ralph Bunche and Ánimo Venice Charter High Schools join them among the top 1000 high schools in California.

Ánimo Leadership continues to be recognized as one of the nation’s finest public high schools, placing in the top 1% in the nation and statewide. Its national ranking was 204 out of 23,000 schools evaluated and 23rd overall in California.

“Given the new rankings and their focus on college readiness and graduation rates, it is gratifying to see so many of our high schools recognized nationally for their excellence,” said Dr. Cristina de Jesus, CEO of Green Dot Public Schools California. “I’m pleased to see the hard work and dedication of our teachers and staff acknowledged and celebrated, and I know this will help inspire them to continue striving, innovating and serving our students.

“The rankings also point to a fundamental truth about our nation’s public education system: It begins and ends with each individual student,” de Jesus added. “Our schools are only as strong and successful as our students, as our families and as the communities we proudly serve.”

U.S. News has revamped and improved its ranking system for 2019 to include six different measurements: college readiness, determined by how many students take and pass Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests; math and reading readiness, based on state testing scores; math and reading performance, based on how the school’s least-advantaged students compare on tests to their peers nationwide; whether those least-advantaged students are outperforming similar students in their state; breath of college readiness, based on the number of students who take and pass multiple AP and IB tests; and graduation rates. US News used data from more than 23,000 public high schools in the country and ranked more than 17,000.

The Green Dot Difference

On every Green Dot campus, students experience a small school environment where adults know their names. Green Dot schools provide a high care, high structure, high expectations approach to learning; a personalized learning plan for students; a traditional school day with an early emphasis in proficiency in reading and math; and after-school programs complementing our mission and educational model.

An independent study by UCLA found that Green Dot students are nearly four times more likely to graduate and be ready for college than students at neighboring schools. A separate UCLA study found that Green Dot’s high schools significantly lower a variety of serious risky behavior among students through increased retention and improved academic outcomes.

“Providing our students with exceptional educational opportunities and experiences that prepare them to succeed in college and in their careers is at the core of Green Dot’s mission, and these rankings are further proof that we are meeting and often exceeding those goals,” said Chad Soleo, interim CEO of Green Dot Public Schools National. “Simply getting students to graduation day is no longer enough – students need to be ready to meet the challenges of our dynamic economy and rapidly evolving workplaces. At Green Dot, we seek to provide that foundation to our students – and we are committed to strengthening that foundation each and every day.”