Home

U.S. News has once again recognized Randolph High School as one of the most prestigious schools in the country ranking RHS in the top 8% of high schools nationally for 2022. Approximately 17,840 public schools were surveyed and evaluated based on their college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, underserved student performance and graduation rate. We are grateful to be recognized for our students’ performance as it is indicative of the success our students’ will have personally and professionally later in life.

“A great high school educates all students from different social and economic backgrounds, exposing them to challenging coursework on the path to graduation. The highest ranked U.S. public schools in U.S. News & World Report's 2022 rankings are those whose students demonstrated outstanding outcomes above expectations in math, reading and science state assessments, earned qualifying scores in an array of college-level exams, and graduated in high proportions,” U.S. News Chief Data Strategist Robert Morse and Principal Data Analyst Eric Brooks said.

Randolph High School Principal Jessica Caruso Baxter added: “We are once again thrilled to be ranked on this prestigious list. I believe this is a testament to our wonderful students and educators who work hard each day. RHS is an inclusive and supportive learning environment, and our staff works diligently, not just to challenge our students intellectually, but to get to know each of them as individuals and encourage them to follow their passions. RHS achieved this ranking based on rigorous criteria including student performance on state and national assessments, college readiness, curriculum, graduation rate and underserved student performance. Rankings are a great way to recognize high performing districts, but they alone do not capture what an outstanding place Randolph High School is. We celebrate this ranking and will continue to succeed and grow as a school community.”

Randolph Township Schools has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. Now in its 23rd year, the Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. Randolph has received this recognition for a total of 15 years since 2003 including 9 consecutive years from 2014 - 2022.

"This recognition is quite special this year as it underscores the innovation, creativity, and determination that our incredible faculty possessed in order to deliver high quality music education to our students. As a result of their herculean efforts, our students were able to experience the joys and healing nature of music this year,” Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts John DiEgidio said. “Furthermore, the longevity that we have received this award serves as a reminder that our music department is continuing to live up to the legacy that was left to us by our predecessors and icons in music education. We stand on the shoulders of giants and continue to rise!"

Since the passage by Congress in 2015 of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and a stated emphasis on a well-rounded education, many school districts have re-committed to music and arts education programs and found that in this time of a national pandemic, provides a valuable way to keep students engaged in school. ESSA provides designated funding for well-rounded educational opportunities through Title IV Part A Student Academic Success and Achievement grants. NAMM Foundation research has revealed that these grants are being widely used by school districts to address instructional gaps in access to music and arts education.

Research into music education continues to demonstrate educational/cognitive and social skill benefits for children who make music: After two years of music education, researchers found that participants showed more substantial improvements in how the brain processes speech and reading scores than their less-involved peers and that students who are involved in music are not only more likely to graduate high school, but also to attend college as well. Everyday listening skills are stronger in musically trained children than in those without music training. Significantly, listening skills are closely tied to the ability to: perceive speech in a noisy background, pay attention, and keep sounds in memory. Later in life, individuals who took music lessons as children show stronger neural processing of sound: young adults and even older adults who have not played an instrument for up to 50 years show enhanced neural processing compared to their peers. Not to mention, social benefits which include conflict resolution, teamwork skills, and how to give and receive constructive criticism.

About The NAMM Foundation

The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its approximately 10,400 members around the world. The foundation advances active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs.