Head of School Blog – Vol. 5

Dear Donoho Community,

Happy Holidays! If you’re like me, you’re still stuffed from the spoils of Thanksgiving and anxiously looking forward to Christmas. It’s a wonderful time of the year and we definitely have much to be thankful for. It reminds me of a church sign I saw the other day that said, “If we count our blessings one by one, we can see how rich we truly are.” One of my many blessings is working with a dynamic, passionate, and caring school community – one that’s been named the 4th best private school in Alabama!

Alabama has some of the best private schools in the south, many with outstanding reputations that span many years. Recently niche.com, a site that “seeks to make choosing a neighborhood college or K-12 school a more transparent process by providing review and insight from everyday experts,” set out to answer that question by creating a “Best Private High Schools” ranking system. According to niche.com, they rank the schools using several indicators.

Here’s how they explain their process:

The Best Private High Schools ranking provides a comprehensive assessment of the overall experience at private high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It uses data sourced from various government and public data sets, Niche’s own proprietary data, and 123,218 opinion-based survey responses across a variety of topics from 16,688 current students, recent alumni, and parents.

A high ranking in Overall Experience generally indicates that:

1. Students are very happy with their experiences in all aspects including academics, teachers, health, safety, resources, facilities, extracurriculars, sports, and fitness;
2. The school is an exceptional academic institution in terms of teachers, students, resources for learning, and student outcomes;
3. The school is made up of a diverse population and fosters an accepting, positive school culture.
4. Students are actively involved in a variety of extracurriculars and sports the school offers.

Drum roll please! Here are the top 20 private schools in Alabama according to Niche.com:

1. Indian Springs School (Indian Springs Village, Ala.)
2. Randolph School (Huntsville, Ala.)
3. Tuscaloosa Academy (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
4. The Donoho School (Anniston, Ala.)
5. Bayside Academy (Daphne, Ala.)
6. St. Paul’s Episcopal School (Mobile, Ala.)
7. St. James School (Montgomery, Ala.)
8. Bessemer Academy (Bessemer, Ala.)
9. Montgomery Academy (Montgomery, Ala.)
10. UMS-Wright Preparatory School (Mobile, Ala.)
11. Holy Spirit Catholic Regional School (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
12. Shades Mountain Christian School (Hoover, Ala.)
13. Trinity Presbyterian School (Montgomery, Ala.)
14. Briarwood Christian High School (Birmingham, Ala.)
15. St John Paul II Catholic High School (Huntsville, Ala.)
16. Jefferson Christian Academy (Irondale, Ala.)
17. Parkway Christian Academy (Birmingham, Ala.) (No longer operating)
18. Mountain View Baptist School (Grayson Valley, Ala.)
19. Westminster School at Oak Mountain (Meadowbrook, Ala.)
20. Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School (Montgomery, Ala.)

This is extremely exciting news! Please help spread the word to anyone who is looking for an outstanding educational experience.

Other points of emphasis:

Finally, in my last blog I challenged you, parents, to reach 100% participation in our Annual Fund. The faculty, board of trustees, and senior class met their challenge. Many of you have stepped forward, and for that, we are thankful. The challenge is still active but we’re adding a twist.

ERA-King recently agreed to a dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000, challenge. For every dollar we receive on December 2nd, ERA-King will match it. This is a wonderful opportunity for our school. If you haven’t participated, I hope you’ll consider taking part on that day. The challenge will be for that day ONLY.

I wish you and your family the best during the holiday season.

James