South Seems to be Topping North

By Kimberly Reiss

NEWTON - Newton is known for their public schools. But there is a discrepancy between Newton North and Newton South high schools.  While both are considered top-notch public high schools, in the 2006-2007 academic year, 96 percent of South’s graduates planned to attend four-year colleges, as opposed to the 78 percent from Newton North.

“Newton South is an academically focused school with a rigorous curriculum,” said Brian Salzer, principal of Newton South High School.  “We start working with families from freshman helping to prepare the student’s profiles and getting them thinking about the kinds of schools they want to go to.”

Salzer said that Newton South also has a college career center, which includes counselors whose sole job is to build relationships with colleges and to guide students.  Newton South also uses software called Naviance, which uses a student’s grade point average, SAT scores, and extra-curricular activities to calculate whether a student will be able to get into a specific school.

Newton North has a different approach when it comes to the high school experience.  It stresses a more, well rounded balance of academics and extra-curricular activities. 

“At South you do your thing and your focus should only be on that, meaning either academics or sports,” said Allison Egdahl, a Boston University freshman who attended both Newton North and South high schools.  “But Newton North is the balance of academics and extra-curriculars.  Its focus is on being well-rounded.”

Egdahl said that Newton North is more recognized for its theater program, and sports.  “When you think of sports in Newton, you think of North, not South,” she said. 

The discrepancy in students attending four-year schools may be districting.

Five years ago, Newton North had 2500 students and Newton South only had 1,100.  North’s district lines included more, less affluent areas such as the part of town closest to Watertown.  But in the last few years the lines have been redrawn to even out the numbers at both schools. 

“Redrawing the district lines has evened out the populations in both Newton North and South,” Salzer said. “North used to have more students with disabilities, as well as immigrants whose first language is not English, but that has evened out considerably.” 

            

Salzer expects the number of students going to four year schools to drop a little due to the redistricting, and for Newton North’s numbers to rise.  “You will start to see the change in the next few years,” he said.