Ranking: The country’s best high schools for 2023

(NEXSTAR) – When it comes to the best public high school in the country, a newcomer from North Carolina has broken the ranks, according to a new study.

Niche, a website that combines student, parent, and alumni ratings with quantitative data, just released its 2023 high school rankings and found the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics to be the best in the nation.

Durham School climbed steadily during the pandemic, ranking 4th in 2021 and reaching 2nd place a year later. Check out the top 10 public high schools below:

When it comes to private high schools, Phillips Academy Andover in Massachusetts takes first place for the third straight year.

Check out the 10 best private high schools for 2023 below and the full list for public and private institutions here.

In 2023, many school districts will be juggling staffing shortages as well as the continued presence of COVID-19, which continues to spread via highly transmissible subvariants of omicron.

While some districts are increasing staffing levels and installing new ventilation systems to minimize disruption, the Associated Press reported that many others were sticking with the same approach as last year.

“We do not expect any significant changes to our plan; we don’t anticipate any significant disruption,” Charles Herndon, a spokesman for Baltimore County Public Schools, told the AP. “What we’re expecting are COVID waves in 2022 and 2023 and I’m sure there will be times when more people will be absent and there will be times when everything is fine.”

When it comes to the best school districts in 2023, Niche found that the top five are either in Illinois or in New York:

Education is top of mind for many parents who fear their children will have to catch up after two years of distance learning, social isolation and various pandemic-related traumas such as the loss of a loved one.

“Many students are having to relearn how to interact with each other personally and in social and academic settings,” Wayne Au, a professor or educator at the University of Washington, Bothell, told The Conversation. Additionally, students from low-income families are still trying to overcome the consequences of unequal access to resources and technology at home during distance learning.”

Choosing a new school has never been easy, but parents and children must now do so in an unprecedented environment.

“Some of the biggest decisions parents face have to do with their children’s education,” said Luke Skurman, founder and CEO of Niche. “We strive to put as much power in their hands as possible so they can make informed decisions with confidence.”

This is the ninth year that Niche has compiled the ranking, which is based on data compiled for 92,743 public schools, 30,112 private schools and 11,820 school districts nationwide.