Pine View ranked No. 1 high school in Florida, top 10 for U.S.

News spread quickly to Pine View School principal Stephen Covert that the school was ranked 7th by U.S. News & World Report for best high schools in the country. 

Covert received emails and calls of congratulations as early as 10 a.m. this morning. The rankings which were released this week also list Pine View as the top high school in the state of Florida. 

Among the measures listed that qualify Pine View is a student-teacher ratio of 17 to 1 and a college readiness index of 100. The ranking defines college readiness as “based on the percentage of 12th-grade students who are tested and pass the Advance Placement tests.” 

“Most [students] have at least four or five AP-level courses. Some graduate with 26 credits in college,” Covert said. “Our students come back when they’re on break form Harvard, the University of Florida or Penn State tell us how easy it is because they were so prepared.”

The school also achieved a STEM or Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics ranking of 25th in the country. 

“I think that one of the most important components in our mission statement that may not be measured in the ranking and that’s our focus on social responsibility,” Covert said. 

Some of the partnerships students have with the community include Habitat for Humanity, Alta Vista Elementary School and All Faiths Food Bank. 

In his third year as principal Covert encourages this social responsibility and civic engagement among the students. 

“I tell them that they are all the giants on whose shoulders future generations of Pine View students will stand one day,” Covert said.