At the end of her sophomore year, Kamryne Blake left Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS), hoping to gain new experiences at her local high school.

“At Birmingham, there were so many students,” Blake said. “It was hard to focus. It’s really important to the staff (of DPMHS) that we pass all our classes.”

Blake came back this semester of her junior year, hoping for a more focused education. Blake is not alone in realizing the education potential at DPMHS, which is sometimes overlooked by the student body.

This month the U.S. News and World Report ranked DPMHS as the second best public magnet high school in the San Fernando Valley, right after Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies. Overall, DPMHS ranked 140 among high schools in California, 129 out of all magnet schools in the country and 837 among high schools across the nation.

Every year, the U.S. News and World Report calculates high schools performances over the nation and ranks them according to graduation rate, college readiness and a few other categories including Advanced Placement (AP) exam scores.  

“In such a large community like Los Angeles, it is such a great accomplishment,” Magnet Coordinator Nicole Bootel said. “I’m very proud of that.”