Recently, the 2013 U.S. News and World Report Nation’s Best High Schools was released, and Horizon Community Learning Center was ranked 17th in the state, out of 385. This is a personal best for the school, as last year, our slotting was 22nd. The rank is decided on four factors: teacher student ratio, college readiness, math proficiency, and reading proficiency. Horizon Honors didn’t have any statistical data for the teacher student ratio, but our college readiness was 30% out of the 34% who tested. According to the tests, 89% of Horizon students are proficient in math, and 96% are proficient in reading.

What does it take to get a school to a high ranking? It takes a determination from the staff and students. Without the drive that Horizon Honors students have, our school wouldn’t be anywhere near where it is today. It also takes a strong desire to learn, which not many high schoolers possess.

At Horizon, whether we like it or not, we have a heightened collective will to learn that is seldom halted by anything. Instead of having a mindset of “high school is our whole life,” we understand that the future is more important than the present, and we need to plan for it and prepare ourselves for it. These traits gave us a high score on the “school leaderboard,” but that’s just a number, in comparison to the combined achievements of all students who have graduated from this school. The rank is nice, but it just proves what we already know: learning pays off.