CORRECTION: Four Rivers Community School was ranked No. 2 best charter school in Oregon and is a state sponsored charter school. A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that Four Rivers Community School was ranked the second-best charter school in the U.S. and part of the Ontario School District. The Enterprise apologizes for the error.
ONTARIO – The U.S. News and World Report ranked the Four Rivers Community School was ranked the second-best charter school in the state.
The U.S. News and World Report based the evaluation on nearly 20,000 schools nationwide, focusing on factors such as college readiness, proficiency in core subjects and underserved student performance and graduation rates.
“A great high school educates all of its students from different social and economic backgrounds, exposing them to challenging coursework on the path to graduation,” U.S. News and World Report wrote.
With a 93% graduation and attendance rate – 20% higher than the state average of 62% – in 2023 the school was ranked the No. 1 school in the Ontario area, according to the publication’s rankings.
Chelle Robins, the Four Rivers Community School District superintendent, said in an email Thursday, July 11, that this was the first time the school had been ranked by U.S. News and World Report.
Robins said Four Rivers is an “early college model” that aims to put students on a path to college. As the report explicitly addresses college readiness, she said the ranking is an “honor.”
She said the school devotes significant resources on direct college course enrollment for students at Treasure Valley Community College.
Robins noted that nearly 80% of the school’s students in 2023 participated in those direct college courses at the college. The state average in 2023 was under 30%, she said.
“This is an exciting recognition for our students, families, teachers, and community,” Robins said.
The national recognition comes when rural high school graduates enroll in college at a lower rate than their urban peers.
According to a 2020 study by Education Northwest and the Ford Family Foundation in 2019, 42% of rural students enrolled in college immediately after graduating high school, compared to 56% of nonrural students.
Four Rivers students ranked third in the college readiness index, which looks at the proportion of students who passed at least one advanced placement exam.
According to data from the Oregon Department of Education, Four Rivers had 353 students enrolled. The state data notes that just over 100 students were high schoolers. The K-12 charter school is a state-sponsored charter school and employs over 20 teachers, seven educational assistants and one counselor.
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