U.S. News and World Report, in its annual ranking of top schools, has recognized two local districts as some of the best in the state.

Freeport High School is ranked fifth in the state, while Brunswick High School was ranked 11th.

Schools are ranked based on their performance on state-required tests and how well they prepare students for college. Nationally, the report reviews data from 22,000 public high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Freeport’s graduation rate is 98 percent and Brunswick’s is 93 percent. Both are higher than the state average of 87 percent, according to state data.

Brunswick Superintendent Paul Perzanoski said the graduation rate has remained consistent in the last five years, due in part to the development of alternative programs for students that are focused on individual needs.

Perzanoski said the catalyst for developing such programs was the need for additional socialization and emotional support, as well as academic instruction to incoming kindergartners. Perzanoski said he is seeing a difference as the programs become ingrained in the school’s culture, and have raised the graduation rate.

Those programs include an alternative program at the junior high school. Meanwhile, Freshman and Sophomore academies are based on relationships with one teacher and educational technician so students do not transition from class to class and the teacher can better track progress and issues that may appear.

Perzanoski said incoming freshmen may have had difficulty transitioning to high school and were in danger of falling through the cracks in a larger academic setting.

Brunswick High School’s academy is a regular education program designed to help students transition to the rigors of high school academics, improve study and organizational skills, provide social and emotional support, and begin examination of post-secondary options, according to a description from the school’s website.

The Union School has been in practice for nearly 30 years, and is an alternative education program for upperclassmen to earn the necessary 21 1/2 or more credits to earn a diploma. The program emphasizes career skills by working in teams, by planning for the future, and by taking an active role in learning, according to the school website. Perzanoski explained that coursework is split into a morning or afternoon session, and elective courses can be taken at the high school, or students can enroll in the Region 10 technical school, or may chose to work half the day to earn credit.

The addition of the REAL School is also part of the work to help students acclimate to educational structures that are beneficial to them. The Real School will be relocating from Mackworth Island in Falmouth to Brunswick Landing in July. A 7,000-square-foot building at 14 Gerzofsky Drive is being renovated for the coming academic year.

Perzanoski also credited the school’s large gifted and talented program, which staffs more teachers than the average Maine school. “We are making sure we challenge students,” he said.

The superintendent said the ranking distinction is a school-wide effort by all staff members who work with students from kindergarten to grade 12. He noted the school has been recognized before by the report, and usually fall within the top 20 statewide.

Brunswick High School was awarded a silver medal from the report in terms of college readiness. Based on data from the 2014-15 school year, 65 percent of students, district-wide, are proficient in English and 34 percent are proficient in mathematics. In assessing just high school students, with results garnered from SAT college admission exam, of the 168 participants, 77 percent were at or above the state expectations. In mathematics, 57 percent were at or above state expectations, according to the Maine Assessment and Accountability Reporting System. Nationally, Brunswick is ranked 2,251 of 22,000 schools.

At Freeport High School, serving 484 students, 47 percent of the study body population is enrolled in Advanced Placement courses. Based on data from the 2014-15 school year, 100 percent of students are proficient in English and 69 percent are proficient in mathematics, according to the district average. In assessing just high school students, of the 120 students who took the SAT exam, 62 percent of students met or exceeded state expectations in mathematics and 60 percent met or exceeded state expectations in English language arts.

Nationally, Freeport is ranked 1,256 of the 22,000 schools.

Efforts to reach Regional School Unit 5 Superintendent Becky Foley and school board Chairwoman Michelle Ritcheson were unsuccessful.

The top high school in Maine is the Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone, according to the report.

jlaaka@timesrecord.com