Niche Ranks Best Martinez Schools

MARTINEZ, CA — Alhambra Senior High School is the top-ranked school in the Martinez Unified School District, according to new rankings released Monday by Niche. The company gave Alhambra Senior High an overall grade of A- and ranked it the 436th-best public high school in the state of California.

Here are the best schools in and near Martinez — from both Martinez and Mt. Diablo unified school districts — and their Niche grades and rankings (if applicable) for 2020:

• College Park High School, A-, 399th-best public high school in the state
• Valhalla Elementary School, A-
• Horizons School: Independent Study, A-, 423rd-best public high school in the state
• Alhambra Senior High School, A-, 436th-best public high school in the state
• Morello Park Elementary, A-
• Sequoia Elementary School, A-
• John Swett Elementary School, B+
• Martinez Junior High School, B+, 726th-best public middle school in the state
• Sequoia Middle School, B+, 805th-best public middle school in the state
• Valley View Middle School, B+, 847th-best public middle school in the state
• John Muir Elementary School, B+
• Eagle Peak Montessori, B, 873rd-best public middle school in the state
• Hidden Valley Elementary School, B
• Mary Casey Black Elementary School, B
• Vicente Martinez High School, B-
• Westwood Elementary School, B-
• Las Juntas Elementary School, B-
• Sunrise (Special Education), C+
• El Dorado Middle School, C+
• Olympic Continuation High School, C
• Rancho Medanos Junior High School, C

Niche looked at more than 94,000 public schools, 4,100 private schools and nearly 11,000 school districts across the country. The rankings — searchable by city— are meant to help parents and students find schools that best fit their needs.

“Unlike traditional school rankings, which rely almost exclusively on test scores and academic performance, Niche’s rankings provide a real-life view of what it’s like to attend a given school,” the company said in a news release.

Comments from current students, alumni, and parents are included in the analysis, as well as observations about things like campus life, extracurricular activities, sports options, diversity, and programs for gifted and special needs students.

“Parents and students need more than test-score data,” Luke Skurman, CEO at Niche, said in the news release. “They need to understand what it’s really like to attend a school before they start the application or registration process.”

For the first time, Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, were ranked the top private and public high schools, respectively, in the nation.

2020 top public high schools:

1. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology
2. Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
3. Walter Payton College Prep
4. Stuyvesant High School
5. Bergen County Academies

2020 top private high schools:

1. Phillips Exeter Academy
2. St. Mark’s School of Texas
3. Phillips Academy
4. The College Preparatory School
5. Trinity School

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.