Not only did three Bronx high schools make it to the top ten list of best high school’s in the New York City area, but they also are considered to be some of the best in the country according to a recently released rankings by education website Niche.
Under private schools, Horace Mann in Fieldston took top honors in The Bronx and 3rd in the city followed by Riverdale Country School which placed 10th on the list. In the nation, the schools placed 12th and 40th respectively.
As for public schools, it comes as no surprise that the New York City specialized high school, Bronx Science, took the 7th slot in the city and 21st nationally.
According to Niche, the 2020 ranking, “… is based on rigorous analysis of academic and student life data from the U.S. Department of Education along with test scores, college data, and ratings collected from millions of Niche users…” with greatest emphasis on academic grades weighting 60% of the overall score.
While both Horace Mann and Riverdale Country School both have annual tuition of just under $55,000 making them out of reach of the average Bronx student but both are committed to providing financial aid to students in need.
Collectively for the 2019-2020 academic year they have budgeted or issued over $20 million in financial aid with 15% of students at Horace Mann having received over $11 million in aid and Riverdale Country having budgeted $9.5 million for such cases.
Meanwhile, although there is no tuition over at Bronx Science, students do have to take a placement test which, much like tuition at the aforementioned elite high schools, becomes a barrier for students, particularly of color an from low-income families.
At least the two hill top schools on the list aim to keep a diverse student body putting millions behind that commitment.
Not bad for The Bronx to have three schools make the cut. It’s worth mentioning that not one Brooklyn school made either list and under the private schools category, neither did Queens or Staten Island.
