June 30, 2010
TAMPA, Fla. – According to a special report by Newsweek magazine, the designated Hillsborough County high schools for students living in FishHawk Ranch and MiraBay were recently ranked among the top six percent of public high schools nationwide. With their rankings, Newsome High School and East Bay High School both reinforce the high academic standards and quality education students receive through educational establishments neighboring these two Newland Communities in Hillsborough County.
Newsome High School, located within one mile of FishHawk Ranch, was ranked number 209, moving up the list from their 2009 ranking of 439. This year, East Bay High School, the designated school for MiraBay students, was ranked 792.
“We are ecstatic to see our local communities’ schools recognized on a national level,” said Rick Harcrow, senior vice president of operations for Newland Communities. “Our communities strive to promote a lifestyle filled with family involvement where students can truly succeed.”
Newsweek uses an index challenge formula that calculates rankings by looking at the number of students taking Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) or Cambridge tests and then dividing by the number of graduating seniors.
About FishHawk Ranch
FishHawk Ranch by Newland Communities is the first community in Hillsborough County and largest in the Tampa area to be certified a Green Community by the Florida Green Building Coalition. The 3,000-acre community, located in Southeast Hillsborough County, features more than 20 miles of nature trails, top-rated schools on-site, and a plethora of recreational amenities. The FishHawk Ranch Welcome Center and 12 model homes, ranging from maintenance-free townhomes and triplexes to single-family and custom homes, are open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. For more information, please call (813) 685-7500.
About MiraBay
MiraBay by Newland Communities is a 750-acre waterfront residential community located 20 miles south of Tampa in Apollo Beach, Florida. The community features The MiraBay Club, a 10,000-square-foot clubhouse with a spa, fitness center, resort-style pool, and tennis and basketball courts. Upon completion, MiraBay will have about 1,900 single-family homes, custom homes, townhomes and villas. The community is adjacent to Wolf Creek Nature Preserve and offers a 135-acre man-made lagoon and a 3.5-mile canal system with direct boating access to Tampa Bay. MiraBay was honored by the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission for having the Tampa Bay area’s best master-planned community design in 2002 and its homebuilders have also won national design awards. www.mirabay.com
About Newland Communities
Newland Communities is the largest private developer of planned residential and urban mixed-use communities in the United States. With over 40 years of experience, Newland and its affiliates have completed or have underway more than 140 diverse real estate developments, over 20 million square feet of commercial and retail space and 175,000 residential units in 14 states. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Newland is currently developing four master-planned new-home communities in Hillsborough County, Florida: FishHawk Ranch, Circa FishHawk, MiraBay and Waterset. www.newlandcommunities.com
