Legacy High School has been ranked as one of the best in the state.

U.S. News and World Report recognized the Adams 12 Five Star Schools high school with a silver medal in May, ranking it 31st in the state when compared with all other high schools, and 852nd in the nation.

“We were very honored to receive this national recognition,” Legacy High School Principal Lee Peters said. “It made us feel really good about all the hard work we have done to make what we feel is a really strong high school.”

Peters credits some of the school’s success over the years to the collaborative teamwork taking place among teachers and school administrators.

Each year, Peters said, teams of teachers work together to evaluate their classroom instruction, analyze student-performance-test scores, determine the best way to provide instruction and make cohesive changes.

“I think it’s the result of striving toward continuous improvement and never being satisfied with your current level of performance, either as a staff member or as a student.” Peters said. “Our philosophy has been for many years: a group of teachers can do a better job of educating students than any individual teacher can.”

However, Peter said, the school’s most important key to success is student’s commitment to be prepared for college.

A U.S. News and World Report analysis showed participation in advanced-placement courses is 53 percent. Of those who participate, nearly 29 percent passed the advanced-placement exam last year.

“We’re very proud of what they’re doing there, and our work now and our roles is to take other school teams and say, ‘Learn from Legacy,’” Adams 12 Superintendent Chris Gdowski said. “You have different students that you serve, and parents may have different times that they may be able to support and volunteer, but there’s a lot that can be learned from this school, especially in the way the staff works together.”