City Charter High School has been selected for Schools That Can, a small but growing network of high-achieving urban charter and independent schools.

"This is, without a doubt, one of the best public charter high schools in America," said Joe Wilkinson, a retired management consulting firm president who founded the group and is it co-chair.

Schools That Can comprises 26 schools, including one other in Pittsburgh, The Neighborhood Academy in Garfield, which joined the list a few years ago. It is working toward growing to 300 and getting enough grant money to help its members develop and sustain leadership.

City Charter High School, Downtown, is a public school for which school districts pay a state-mandated fee for each student who attends. It has more than 500 students in ninth through 12th grades. About 62 percent of its students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

Neighborhood Academy, which opened in 2001 in Garfield, is a private school that grew out of a youth ministry. It has about 65 students. Parents are required to pay at least $50 a month based on income; donations cover the remaining expenses. About 85 percent of its students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. All of its graduates are in college, and all of its current senior class is planning to go.

City High is perhaps best known for giving every student a laptop, but it's not what Maxine Klimasara, chief executive officer, thinks about when she lists the school's strengths. She sees it as a way to support education.

She said that a key difference is the school uses "looping," -- students have the same teachers all four years -- fostering close relationships.

"It causes everyone to cry a lot at graduation," she said. "It's a very family-oriented situation. The students and staff become very close over time."

She also noted the school uses data to drive instruction, constantly adjusting to meet the needs of each group of students.

The school also requires students to wear business casual clothes, participate in an internship, offers opportunities to get various Microsoft certifications and has a year-round calendar with breaks.

At The Neighborhood Academy, Jodie Moore, co-founder and president, said the school deals with the whole child. She said some are two or three grade levels behind when they enter, but the intensive program, including six weeks of summer school, helps to bring them up.

She said the students are required to work hard and learn "the self-respect that only comes from working hard and finally succeeding at something you're doing."