FRESNO COUNTY – Kings Canyon Unified School District is coming off the heels of a successful academic year, and is excitedly working to keep the nose on the grindstone.
On Aug. 19, U.S. News and World Report released the 2025-26 Best High School Rankings. Kings Canyon Joint Unified School District (KCJUSD) is proudly celebrating four of its high schools receiving Best High School status, including: Reedley High School, Orange Cove High School, Reedley Middle College High School and Kings Canyon Online.
“Our staff members, from classroom teachers to support staff and our admins, have all been working really hard and making sure our kids have opportunities once they graduate,” said Eddie Nolen, assistant superintendent for secondary education at KCUSD. “I feel like these rankings are a nice validation of all that hard work.”
Reedley High and Orange Cove High are both reported to have a 96% graduation rate, which U.S. News states to be slightly above the state median. Reedley Middle College really made a name for itself with a 100% graduation rate, which U.S. News states to be “well above state median.”
California has a reported 2,586 high schools, but only 1,646 made this year’s rankings. Reedley High, Orange Cove High and Reedley Middle College all ranked within the top third of California schools, sitting at 308th, 335th and 531st respectively.
Reedley High and Orange Cove High also both ranked within the top 10 of Fresno metro area high schools, placing sixth and seventh.
“Our two main principals at Reedley High and Orange Cove High work really well together in collaboration, and they kind of have this healthy competition between them, but at the end of the day they’re all a part of KCUSD and they want what’s best for their kids,” Nolen said.
U.S. News analyzes a myriad of factors like college readiness, state assessment performance and underserved student performance to determine its rankings. The data is provided from third party sources like the College Board, International Baccalaureate and assessment data from each state.
The district is celebrating more than just the U.S. News rankings, however. For the 2023-24 school year, KCUSD ranked as the Valley’s second highest performing district on the CAASPP ELA and math test.
According to Alisha Gallon, the district’s communications director, KCUSD is expecting very similar placements for the 2024-25 school year. Although the official numbers are not to be revealed until October, the district reports a 4.7% growth in meeting or exceeding ELA standards, and 4.2% meeting or exceeding math standards.
“We are seeing continued growth in our test scores…we are still toward the top of the pack,” Gallon said.
