U.S. News and World Report released the results for 2017 high school rankings and shows that OHS has been ranked number 2 on a state level. Orono is behind Math and Science Academy in Woodbury. As a result, OHS has also been ranked no. 249 among public schools in the nation and received a gold medal from U.S. News for their exceptional achievements.

“Honestly we [should] be number two, I’m not going to lie. We have a great school with great teachers. Period. End of story,” principal David Benson said.

OHS’s qualifications were assessed appropriately on a spectrum devised of four main goals created by U.S. News and Worldly Report. The credentials are as follows: students perform better than expected in their state, disadvantaged students perform better than state average, student graduation rate meets or exceeds a national standard, and students are prepared for college-level coursework.

The Orono district serves the areas of Independence, Long Lake, Maple Plain, Medina, Minnetonka Beach, and Orono. Constructed in 1968, the high school has only gained momentum. Educating with an emphasis on strong tradition of excellence, rooted in community and relationships, according to the 2016-2017 profile made by the OHS School Counseling Department.

With 948 students in the entirety of OHS, students are able to more easily seek aid due to the student-teacher ratio of 21:1. Between the typical school day, beginning at 7:50 a.m. and concluding at 2:30 p.m., students are able to pursue help before, after, and during school.

“Students come into my room all the time to ask for help, whether it be for Precalc, Stats, or Functions and Trig,” mathematics teacher Nathan Porter said.

The average GPA at OHS is 3.2, unweighted; the national average is approximately 3.0. Compared to the measured GPA across the United States, OHS students well exceed the national average.

Student graduation was also assessed to oversee that the rates meet or exceeded the national standard. In the 2015 to 2016 school year, 97 percent of OHS seniors graduated high school and 94 percent ventured onto a college in the preceding year. With an overwhelming large amount of alumni attending universities in the fall, OHS over exceeds the national average by 28.1 percent.

“I have always had the mindset to graduate high school and attend college. In part I feel that my parents have instilled this mentality within me, but I have also felt that my teachers and peers have guided me in this direction as well,” junior Andy Baran said.

To measure readiness for college, OHS was ranked 66.9 on a scale to 100.0 by to U.S. News. In order to reach such insurmountable success within this desired goal, Orono has implemented academic initiatives that have resulted in rising ACT scores and an increase of 350 percent in AP scholars; OHS offers 18 AP courses, 11 honors and enriched courses and five college in school classes. According to U.S. News, AP enrollment at OHS is a staggering 79 percent of the student body and an impressive 89 percent of the students who take the test(s) pass.

“Throughout my high school career I have taken nine AP classes and seven enriched and honors classes. By taking an extensive amount of AP and enriched courses, I feel that I have not only challenged myself, but am better prepared for college classes in the future,” said senior Nora Luetmer.

Through the assessment of the credentials created by U.S. News and World Report, OHS has been named one of the best high schools in America.