West Harrison High ranks #1 academically, celebrates with pep rally

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - After ranking third in the state last year, a report released by the Mississippi Department of Education earlier this year crowned West Harrison High School as the top high school in the state.

School officials put together a “pep rally” for students to celebrate. State representatives along with district officials like superintendent Mitchell King acknowledged the hard work that teachers and students put in.

“When I learned that they were the number one school in the state, I felt a great deal of pride. Over the years this school has always been in the top tier of the high schools in the state. They’ve been number 2, 3, now number one,” Mitchell King said.

The school posted an 88.7% graduation rate and was given 849 points via Mississippi’s accountability system, beating out more than four hundred high schools in the state. Sophomore student Marley Freeman said she was a little shocked at the news.

“I remember after state testing, I went around and asked people how they felt. What did you think you made? Everyone said I feel good. The fact that there were this many perfect scores. That helped us achieve this is like whoa,” Freeman said.

Superintendent Mitchell King says us nothing would be possible without the hard work and dedication of teachers and students.

Harrison County School District overall was rated 14th in the state.

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