Want Ivy Leaguers? Drink the Water in Bellevue

MSNBC released a report on the Top High Schools in America, ranking your high school and mine based on a ratio called the Challenge Index devised by Jay Mathews: the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all students at a school in 2002 divided by the number of graduating seniors. Private schools and schools that select more than 50% of their students were omitted from the results to keep rankings unskewed.
Bellevue, Washington represented three of the top 20 schools on the list, an unprecedented achievement by any stretch, with a fourth district school inside the top 500. Perhaps Bellevue, which can be found 15 minutes west of Seattle (across Lake Washington), houses the the best and brightest students because it houses the best and brightest parents? Maybe Bill Gates has something to do with it? Bold claims, not really. Bellevue is home to the majority of employees at Microsoft, with it's world HQ's next door, and can be seen as a spawning ground for business inspiration, tech or otherwise. Why, well some may say the mountains, others the Puget Sound, even maybe that traffic in Seattle, but whatever they say, it's where everyone who's anyone wants to be, and if you're their, you've arrived. Yes, you probably live near a community such as this in your neck of the woods, but the elements and ingredients of this one make it an exponential success for smart people; a breeding ground for big thinkers. The result, motivated kids (says the rankings), and alot of money to motivate them, both at home and in the school district. Money equals eduacation to some degree, but the alternative of centralized school funding by the state is a disaster-tale for a different blog I don't have the time or patience to write about right now.
Click the link above and find out if your high school made the cut for America's best high schools.

My Notables: Randolph, NJ (my school): #554 Chatham, NJ #732 Bozeman, MT #434 Comment with your notables.