This story first appeared in the Dec. 9 edition of the Kansan.
Bluebirds are singing in Goessel — basking in praises heaped upon them by U.S. News and World Report.
“We will have a major celebration for our students and staff,” said Goessel superintendent John Fast. “For us, this is a very big deal.”
Goessel High School has been named a bronze medalist by U.S. News and World Report’s listing of best high schools.
The annual study looked at more than 21,000 schools nationwide, selecting two silver medalists and 34 bronze medalists in Kansas.
The school is the only one in the Kansan coverage area to be named in the report.
This is the second time Goessel has been named by the magazine.
“It’s not due to a specific program or canned curriculum we subscribe to,” Fast said. “I think it’s the right people being in the right place at the right time to work with the kids. The bottom line is it comes down to our people.”
The magazine evaluated schools in 48 states, teaming with School Evaluation Services, a K-12 education data research business run by Standard and Poors.
Kansas schools included in the rankings include: Baileyville-St. Benedict High, Nemaha County; Blue Valley North High, Johnson County; Centralia High, Nemaha County; Cheylin West Junior/Senior High, Cheyenne County; Dexter High, Cowley County; Ellsworth High, Ellsworth County; Eudora High School, Douglas County; Flinthills Middle School-High School, Butler County; Girard High, Crawford County; Goessel High, Marion County; Greensburg High, Kiowa County; Hanover High, Washington County; Humboldt High School, Allen County; Lakeside High School at Downs, Osborne County; Lincoln Junior/Senior High, Lincoln County; Logan High, Phillips County; Lyons High, Rice County; Macksville High, Stafford County; Marais Des Cygnes Valley High, Osage County; Moscow High, Stevens County; Olpe Junior/Senior High School, Lyon County; Osborne Junior/Senior High, Osborne County; Palco High, Rooks County; Pretty Prairie High, Reno County; Rock Creek Junior/Senior High School, Pottawatomie County; Satanta Junior-Senior High, Haskell County; Skyline High, Pratt County; South Barber High, Barber County; Stafford Middle School/High School, Stafford County; Sublette High, Haskell County; Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences, Wyandotte County; Sylvan Unified High, Lincoln County; Syracuse High, Hamilton County; Wallace County High, Wallace County; Wichita County High, Wichita County.
