Lincoln Park ranked among ‘Best Charter High Schools in Pa.’

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School has been ranked fourth among “Best Charter High Schools in Pennsylvania” by an independent online ranking company, based on state academic test scores and opinion surveys of current and former students.
The ranking was published by Niche, a Pittsburgh-based company that publishes consumer-oriented online assessments of colleges, K-12 schools, cities and neighborhoods.

Link to rankings https://k12.niche.com/rankings/public-high-schools/best-charter/s/pennsylvania/

“It’s always exciting when an outside organization reaffirms the accomplishments of our students and staff,” said P.K. Poling, the school’s principal and CEO. “This kind of recognition will continue to inspire us to work even harder to provide the best education possible for our students.”

Lincoln Park was ranked behind only three other charter high schools in the commonwealth: Mast Community Charter School in Philadelphia, City Charter School in Pittsburgh and Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School.
Niche cited Lincoln Park’s student graduation rate of 95 percent, math proficiency of 72 percent and reading proficiency of 92 percent among academic markers in the formula it uses to calculate the ranking.*
Niche also factors in survey data from online satisfaction reviews by current and former students who offered opinions about teachers, college preparedness, facilities, health and safety, resources, environment, and extracurricular and sports activities.
Some 93 percent of those surveyed stated if they had it to do over again, they would still choose to attend Lincoln Park.
Anonymous student comments published as part of the report included:
“They work hard to make sure there’s absolutely no bullying and care for the students’ well-being.”
“Students feel no need to break the rules and you rarely ever hear of it.”
“The instruction here is amazing. The teachers are always willing to help you and are sociable and easy to talk to. The academic teachers teach their subjects very well and the arts teachers are extremely passionate about what they teach.”
Niche, originally called College Prowler, was founded in 2002 by a Carnegie Mellon University business student as a consumer resource for rankings and reviews of U.S. colleges.
The favorable ranking from Niche is one of several recent accolades for the school.
Last November, school officials learned that LPPACS had achieved a score of 81.1 on Pennsylvania’s 2013-2014 School Performance Profile, a more than five-point jump from the previous year and a higher score than most of the schools from which it draws its students.
In its 2014 Guide to western Pennsylvania Schools, the Pittsburgh Business Journal ranked Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in the top 25 percent of all western Pennsylvania high schools, based on 11th grade test scores. Lincoln Park ranked 30th out of 121 schools, one of only four charter schools in the region to place in the top quartile.
*(Editor’s Note: more recent academic data from the state performance review of LPPACS, for 2013-14, shows a 99 percent graduation rate, 79 percent math proficiency and 92 percent reading proficiency.)
(Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School press release, July 13, 2015)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]