NEVC ranked in top five schools in southwest Missouri by magazine

When the April issue of 417 Magazine came out, the faculty and staff of Northeast Vernon County High School had a surprise. The district was ranked in the top five schools in southwest Missouri by the publication. The school placed second for schools of their size in an article by Savannah Waszczuk.

Superintendent Charles Naas said that the school had participated in a survey some time ago but had mostly forgotten about it -- until they were notified of the article.

"We didn't even know it was happening," Naas said. "We had sent in something awhile ago but had forgotten about it."

The article looked at Class 1 and Class 2 schools, 33 of them, and graded them on how they stacked up against a list of criteria. Class 1 schools have 130 or fewer students and Class 2 schools have from 131 to 245 students.

Naas said, "The magazine did the ranking. They took all the information and verified it with the state and used it to rank the schools."

Criteria included the student/teacher ratio, advanced classes, dollars spent per student, graduation rates, and the number of graduates that go onto college.

School counselor Gina Naas is quoted in the article as saying that half of the teachers hold master's degrees and remain, even when higher salaries are offered in larger schools nearby. She also gives credit to the school's agriculture department where many of the members of the FFA qualify for competition at the state level.

Naas said that overall about 110 public schools and 25 private schools were contacted and approximately 90 public schools and 12 private schools responded.

The story has elicited a positive response from the districts patrons and from at least one Nevada man, Bill Drake, who congratulated the district on their accomplishment.

"We had a phone message from a Nevada man, Bill Drake, who said we should be very proud of our students and teachers," Naas said.