Website Niche.com ranks District Five top school district in SC

IRMO, SC – National rankings and reviews website Niche.com has ranked Lexington-Richland School District Five the top district in South Carolina in its new list released this month.

The site, which blends community reviews with academic data to rank schools nationally, listed six of District Five’s elementary schools and all four of the district’s middle schools in the top ten statewide. All the district’s high schools are ranked in the top 25. Niche, formerly the better-known College Prowler ranking site, based its new list on eight categories, including: academics, extracurricular activities, health & safety, and facilities among other measures. Parent and student surveys make up around 10 percent of the site’s ranking methodology and include more than 300,000 opinions collected nationwide.

“The Niche.com rankings are especially exciting because they use community reviews as well as assessments and test scores,” said District Five Superintendent Dr. Stephen Hefner. “We are partners with our community and value the opinions of students, parents and residents on our performance in meeting the needs of students. We are grateful for the excellent support we receive from our parents and community, and we are very happy they feel we are doing an exceptional job educating students.”

District Five received an overall grade of “A” by Niche.com, including an A-plus grade for Administration & Policies and an A-plus in the Teachers category. The website’s ranking mirrors other recently released national and state rankings and assessments.

The district received an “Excellent” rating on the state report card released Nov. 14, and it earned an overall “A” rating under the federal accountability system.  Last spring, a U.S. News & World Report ranking showed that District Five leads South Carolina in preparing students for college, and all three of the district’s high schools had college readiness scores above the state average.