Demopolis High rated No. 24 in Alabama by U.S. News and World Report

Demopolis High School got a late-spring boost last week when an al.com story revealed that the institution is ranked among the Top 25 high schools in Alabama according to a release from U.S. News and World Report.

“We recognize that we’re the last stop on a leg that goes through three other schools before these kids get here. I think it’s a Demopolis City honor, very much so, more than just Demopolis High,” DHS principal Blaine Hathcock said of the ranking. “We’re the ones that end up getting the recognition, but we’ve got three other really good schools in the system. I just think it’s something that everybody needs to take a lot of pride in on all of our campuses.”

“The neat thing about us – and I don’t know about the other schools – is that we’re one big feeder pattern. It’s Westside to U.S. Jones to the middle school to the high school. The accolades, of course, are for the high school but this starts at Westside. It’s the same kids that we’re handing off from school to school,” Demopolis City Schools Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff explained. “There is great work taking place at the high school and they deserve a lot of credit, but that pattern is taking place all the way through.”

The national spotlight from U.S. News considers schools on the basis of academic performance, graduation rates and college and career readiness. The ranking considers more than 20,000 high schools nationwide, a cross-country look that has Demopolis rated at 1,955 in the overall scope, a number that puts Demopolis in the Top 10 percent of high schools rated in the country. U.S. News looks at overall academic performance and breaks it categories for consideration up among multiple subgroups including low-income students and disadvantaged students. Demopolis pulled in with a rank of No. 24 in the state of Alabama.

““If you look at the criteria, some of it is based on subgroups and how the groups are closing gaps. We do a good job of that. We work with all students and look at how our different subgroups and different populations are performing,” Kallhoff said.

U.S. News looks at student performance relative to expectation level, considering math and reading scores as well as state testing results for economically disadvantaged students. The criteria also look at the performance of minority and low income students in comparison to statewide results for the same groups. Additionally, the entity focuses on graduation rate relative to the national standard as well as college and career readiness.

According to U.S. News and World Report, Demopolis carries a graduation rate of 94 percent and a college readiness index score of 30.6.

“I think our teachers and our counselors do a really good job of making sure our seniors have every opportunity to graduate,” Hathcock said. “I think expanding our career tech offerings has been beneficial because it allows us to serve a different group of children and they get to get a college or career ready credential. I think improving our work keys and that our students have scored at a certain level in work keys has helped us.”

The ranking lists Demopolis High with a total enrollment of 714 students made up of a 56 percent minority enrollment and a 58 percent enrollment of students considered to be economically disadvantaged.

The school comes in well ahead of state averages in mathematics proficiency and slightly above the state level in reading proficiency.

“There are rankings all the time. Niche is one that puts some out at least once a month. U.S. News is a reputable source. Some of these other rankings are based on surveys or comments that you see on various social media. When we’re doing well in those, of course we’re going to celebrate. When we’re not, I don’t get concerned. U.S. News is a very reputable source and that’s something that I make sure our stakeholders know. This is not some random survey out there. It is nationwide,” Kallhoff said. “We’re excited and we’re proud, but we still have work to do. We don’t want to be complacent. We want to keep on working hard.”