Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Local Eastern Sierra Academy ranked among nation’s best

Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Congratulations to our friends at the Eastern Sierra Academy in Bridgeport! They ranked #132 among the nation’s top 1,500 public high schools in Newsweek magazine’s annual review, just out today.

The Academy has made the top schools list every year since 2002, when the ranking first came out.

We had time to meet many of this year’s students during their preparation for this year Lions Club Speech Contest. The topic: Water-will California be left high and dry? In preparation they made a trip down to Lee Vining and Mono Lake to hear thoughts from the Mono Lake Committee, the Department of Water and Power, and to visit the L. A. Aqueduct. Quite an impressive group.

In addition to the Newsweek ranking, be sure to check out a great online video segment about the school, part of a “Five Top Schools in Unlikely Places” feature.