I downloaded public school data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) for the 2011-2012 school year. I uploaded all 99,000+ schools it had in its database and hope to do the private schools in the future. Below are the top 20 largest high schools.* I did do some manual sanitizing of the list to remove online schools and any schools with multiple campuses (such as Noble Street Charter High in Chicago which has 10+ extension campuses).
Some things I noted while compiling this list:
- Some of them are in dense, urban areas but they always seem to make room for a football field and track
- Most are located in California (mostly LA), Chicago, Texas, and New York City. There’s also one in Indiana, two in Florida, and one in Massachusetts.
- They offer such a wide variety of programs, electives, activities, and sports.
- A couple of these schools separate out the freshman (and possibly the 10th grade as well) into a separate building that is nearby
- Unsure about some of the free/reduced lunch percentages, in particular for the California schools. They just seemed a little low after looking at the surrounding area, but I could be wrong.
- The national average for students receiving free or reduced lunch is about 48% for 2011-2012
| School Name | City | State | Students | Type | Free/ Reduced Lunch | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BROOKLYN TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL | BROOKLYN | NY | 5323 | 71% | Very urban, highly selective, at least 9 stories at the tallest point. Has 3100 seat auditorium. Students choose a major much like what you do at college. | |
| 2 | PARAMOUNT HIGH | PARAMOUNT | CA | 5015 | 3.7% | Has a Freshman campus right behind it | |
| 3 | POLYTECHNIC HIGH | LONG BEACH | CA | 4745 | Magnet | N/A | 2nd oldest high school in L.A. |
| 4 | NORTH SHORE SENIOR HIGH | HOUSTON | TX | 4607 | 67.0% | Looks like a mall to me | |
| 5 | CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL | CARMEL | IN | 4555 | 9.1% | Has 14 tennis courts | |
| 6 | WARREN TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL | GURNEE | IL | 4442 | 14.2% | Split amongst two campuses for 11th/12th and 9th/10th | |
| 7 | LANE TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL | CHICAGO | IL | 4330 | Magnet | 60.9% | North side of Chicago, just like the other Chicago schools in this list |
| 8 | WAUKEGAN HIGH SCHOOL | WAUKEGAN | IL | 4293 | 66.5% | North of Chicago, near Warren Township High | |
| 9 | BELL SENIOR HIGH | BELL | CA | 4290 | 7.8% | 98% Hispanic | |
| 10 | SKYLINE H S | DALLAS | TX | 4289 | Magnet | 79.6% | First high school in US to offer a magnet program to train students in certain careers. Goal was not to be a vocational school for low achieving students, but to train “superior students” |
| 11 | FORT HAMILTON HIGH SCHOOL | BROOKLYN | NY | 4261 | 60.7% | The football field has patches of dirt on it because they have two baseball fields overlapping (space is a premium in NYC!) | |
| 12 | DOWNEY HIGH | DOWNEY | CA | 4255 | 4.8% | Located just 3 miles from Paramount High, the #1 school and 5 miles from Bell (#8) | |
| 13 | JOHN A. FERGUSON SENIOR HIGH | MIAMI | FL | 4245 | Magnet | 57.4% | Variety of programs in areas like Game/Animation Programming, First Responder, Veterinarian Assisting, Industrial Biotechnology, Hospitality & Tourism, IB program |
| 14 | GRANADA HILLS CHARTER HIGH | GRANADA HILLS | CA | 4201 | Charter/ Magnet | 23.8% | Regular school turned into charter school |
| 15 | DEWITT CLINTON HIGH SCHOOL | BRONX | NY | 4195 | 73.7% | In 2010, was declared the most dangerous school in NYC with 252 violent or disruptive incidents and 33 weapons seized, mostly via the metal detectors at entrances | |
| 16 | CYPRESS BAY HIGH SCHOOL | WESTON | FL | 4192 | 15.8% | Satellite images of the surrounding area are really cool- very planned out, suburban community | |
| 17 | FRANCIS LEWIS HIGH SCHOOL | FRESH MEADOWS | NY | 4154 | 68.8% | Located in the Bronx | |
| 18 | WILSON HIGH | LONG BEACH | CA | 4148 | Magnet | 9.5% | Very diverse, aka Wilson Classical High. Have something called the “Wilson Male Academy” to improve graduation rates of males and encourage/prepare them for college or other careers. |
| 19 | BROCKTON HIGH | BROCKTON | MA | 4135 | 71.2% | School has been on the upswing since very dismall performances hitting a low around 2000 | |
| 20 | JAMES LOGAN HIGH | UNION CITY | CA | 4133 | 0.1% | Regular day runs from 7:16 to 4:26! | |
| 21 | THE WOODLANDS H S | THE WOODLANDS | TX | 4122 | 4.3% | Cool circular building design, looks like they may have a separate 9th grade campus. Have a “Future Homemakers of America” club |
*Okay, there are really 21 because I accidentally forgot one and didn’t bother dropping The Woodlands off the list.
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