Once again, Bridgeport High School finds itself among the top schools in West Virginia according to the annual breakdown done by U.S. News and World Report. In the 2017 standings, BHS found itself ranked No. 5 overall in the Mountain State.

 

Last year, Bridgeport was ranked No. 4 and was listed as the top Class AA school. This year, they were jumped by Winfield as the top Class AA high school in West Virginia.

 

Despite the small drop, BHS Principal Mark DeFazio isn’t upset. In fact, he’s once again thrilled to be among the top schools in the state.

 

“Any time you received that type of publicity, particularly from such a trusted source, it’s a positive thing for the school and the entire community,” said DeFazio. “I can tell you that we, as a school, are very proud about the news.”

 

U.S. News’ “Best High School Rankings” reviewed 119 high schools in West Virginia. Nationwide, the magazine reviewed 28,496 public high schools and 33 over those schools made the overall rankings.  Bridgeport ranked No. 2112 out of the nearly 30,000 public schools reviewed.

 

Morgantown was ranked No. 1 in the state. The Mohigans were followed by George Washington, Jefferson, Winfield and Bridgeport. Those five school all received “silver medal” status from U.S. News.

 

“Certainly you want to be higher, but when you take into consideration the criteria and how we stacked up there’s nothing wrong with where we’re at.  You look at those schools ahead of us and when you’re in their company you know you’re doing something right,” said DeFazio.

 

The long-time BHS administrator gave big praise to his student body for the efforts that led to the ranking. He also praised his teachers, staff, parents and the entire community for their efforts.

 

“There are a lot of reasons, all good, that we do well in the academic rankings by (U.S. News) and others that come out annually,” said DeFazio. “There’s a lot of groups that are involved and it all starts with the students.”

 

U.S. News uses a scorecard to determine the rankings. The five areas listed include College Readiness Index, AP Tested, AP Passed, Mathematics Proficiency, and English Proficiency. You can click HERE to see a detailed explanation of how U.S. News Ranks the schools.

 

“The one area where we hurt a bit is on the AP front. A lot of schools in the state have higher enrollments and offer more AP classes so we’re going to lag behind there, but it’s all still relevant,” said DeFazio. “Again, we’re with four other excellent high schools. That’s good company.”

 

DeFazio said last year the school was working to add more AP selections, but it’s not always easy. This year an AP arts class was added and next year AP Music Theory will return after a brief absence. DeFazio also said he’d like to add an AP history class next year.

 

Click HERE for the state breakdown.

 

Editor's Note: The high school, above, and Principal Mark DeFazio are pictured in this story.