Good news folks, Peninsula High School scored exemplary on a recent statewide high school ranking: the high school earned the 44th spot. This ranking may not seem that exciting at first, but considering that there are 477 high schools in Washington, PHS has definitely proved that it is an outstanding school. Adding to the excitement, Peninsula qualified to be on the nationally ranked list, taking spot 2,126 out over 21,000 public schools in the United States and earning a place on the Silver List of Best High Schools in the nation. Check out the national rankings of high schools here.

Revealed by US News and World Report, annual rankings of high schools in the United States are based on a number of factors such as graduation rates and the college readiness index. Peninsula’s exceptional statistics show just how awesome the school really is.

PHS possesses a 79% graduation rate, with students consistently outperforming reading and math standards (at both district and state levels). Peninsula also earned a 26.3 college readiness index (with a maximum of 100 achieved by every student passing at least one AP test before their senior year). With 36% student participation in AP classes, 63% of AP student pass the tests. You can check out more information on the school here.  

When asked about why Peninsula earned the 44th spot, junior Athena Petterson was quick to respond. “I think our most important quality is how inclusive Peninsula is and how we have a lot of variety,” Petterson said.

Mrs. O’Leary, leadership adviser at PHS, also had nothing but positive remarks on this good news. “It makes me feel very proud because I think everyone works hard. The staff and students, they all work hard to make school known and successful and it’s not just about our academics- it’s also about the culture and climate and the other things our school has to offer,” O’Leary said.  

In the last 10 years, Peninsula has worked hard to be the best it can be. O’Leary described how hard the staff has worked to be intentional in intervening with struggling students. “We’re looking at where students are struggling, and then we’re putting things in place in the classroom that are going to help them. Overall, as a strong community, we’re being real with the evidence we have and we’re trying to fix it,” O’Leary said.

Another interesting tidbit of information has arisen as a result of this report: Peninsula has been placed higher than inner city rival, Gig Harbor High School. With this evidence in mind, one could even say that the century long debate of “Which school is better?” has officially been solved.

Bias aside, the ranking of both schools proved how strong our district really is. As a whole, students and staff have every right to be extremely proud of how hard they have worked.