Seven Orange County campuses have earned a place among the top 500 in Newsweek magazine’s ranking of America’s Best STEM High Schools.
Troy High School from the Fullerton Joint Union High School District leads the way locally at No. 39, followed by University High School in the Irvine Unified School District at No. 53.
Other schools to crack the top 500 include Irvine’s Northwood High School (207), Fairmont Preparatory Academy in Anaheim (228), Oxford Academy in Cypress (236), Beckman High School in the Tustin Unified School District (301) and Sage Hill School in Newport Coast (456).
Newsweek, known for its lists of “America’s Top Public High Schools,” partnered with STEM.org for this latest venture, which sought to determine which schools offer students the best experiences in science, technology, engineering and mathematics — otherwise known as STEM — while preparing them for post-secondary learning.
“Children don’t realize it, but they’re natural STEM students,” says Nancy Cooper, Newsweek’s global editor in chief. “We need to make sure that innate drive, curiosity, and creativity aren’t lost along the way. These high schools are helping to ensure America’s future in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is in good
hands.”
For what it’s worth, we noticed that quite a few schools on the list are located in or near Silicon Valley. But the No. 1 spot overall went to the School of Science and Engineering Magnet, a public school in Dallas, Texas.
Based in Southfield, Michigan, STEM.org Educational Research curated the list of 5,000 schools based on quantitative and qualitative data from 2015 through 2019. Income levels were also taken into consideration, according to the magazine.
Newsweek says it will include the top 500 STEM campuses in a Nov. 15 special double-issue. You can access the full list at www.newsweek.com/americas-best-stem-high-schools-2020.