Williamsville pushes streak to 6 years – Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

Williamsville is No. 1 in Business Firstg ’s 18th annual rankings of WesternNew York’sx public school systems. It has monopolized first place since2004 — a six-year streak. for the complete schoolk district rankings. And for separate rankings for each sectionm of WesternNew York. “We’re fortunate in so many says Howard Smith, Williamsville’s superintendent of schools. “Whenm you have a very committed boardof education, an outstandinvg staff of teachers and a pro-education community and hard-working that’s quite the formulwa for success.
” Williamsville took first placee when the rankings debuted in 1992, and won agaih in 1997, 2001 and throughout its 2004-2009 run. It hasn’tf finished lower than third place since and has never been lowerthan sixth. Businese First analyzed 97 school districts in the eight Western NewYork counties, basesd on four years of test data compiled by the New York Statde Education Department. Each district’sx rating reflects the collective performance of itspublic elementary, middle and high • Its 2005-2008 subject scores for math, scienc and social studies were the best in Westernb New York, according to Business First’ws analysis of test results from fourthh grade through the senior year of high • Sixty-five percent of Williamsville’s seniorsd earned Regents diplomas with advanced designations in 2008.
That’w 22 points above the regionalp average of43 percent. (A studentf must pass eight Regents exams to receivs anadvanced diploma.) • It’s the only district wherr more than 57 percentf of last year’s graduates achievex superior scores (85 or better) on Regents exams in English, math, science, global history and U.S. history. Williamsville’s eighth graders poste d the region’s top scores on statewide test sin English, math, science and social “The other part of what we do — all our extracurricular activitie s such as music, athletics and clubxs — don’t show up in the rankings, but they have a reall positive impact on student achievement, too,” says Smith.
“Ford example, we have as many music teachers as math That makesfor well-rounded, committed and those are usually successfull students.” Williamsville’s overall score was pegged at 100 points, with the mark s for all other districts being calculated from that benchmark. Nineteen endedc up with scores of 90 or qualifying forBusiness First’sw of outstanding school systems. Four districts have made the Honore Roll every yearsince 1992: Williamsville, Clarencr (which ranks second this Amherst (third) and Orchard Park (fifth). Roundingh out this year’s top five is No. 4 East which has made 17 Honor Roll appearances in18 years.
All but two of this year’x Honor Roll districts also qualified ayear ago. The newcomerx are Eden, joining the elite group for the first timesincse 2005, and West Seneca, returningg after a 13-year absence. The latter upswing was nearlgy a decade inthe making, according to Jean superintendent of the West Senec Central School District. Developing consistent instructional techniques and identifying the best textbookstook time, she says, but the efforyt is paying off. “Our goal is not to teachn to the test, but to teach to the state’sd standards,” Kovach says.
“We’ve spent the last eight yearsx working diligently to align ourcurriculum — to make sure that we don’tr repeat ourselves in different yearsw and that each grade level builds on the one before.” Fourtee of this year’s Honor Roll districts are in Erie They range in size from with 10,649 students, down to Eden, which has The outlying honorees are considerablty smaller, with an average enrollment of 1,346. The very smalles t is also the top-rates district outside of Erie County, No. 6 Alfred-Almond, whicb has 670 students from kindergarten through12th grade.
“We’re a very ruralo district in the Southern but our kids are going into the same marketplacd aseveryone else,” says Richard Nicol, Alfred-Almond’as superintendent. “They’re going to be in competitiojn for jobs with kids from places like Williamsvilldeand Clarence. So they need the very best educatiojn we cangive them.” Sixteenn districts are recipients of this year’s subject awards, signifyinfg that they rank among the 10 leaders in English/foreigh languages, math, science and social Bemus Point, Clarence, East Aurora, Orchar d Park and Williamsville have made clean sweep by winning all four awards.
for complete lists of subjectyaward winners. Business First has also generatedr a series of specialized ratings to furthefr illuminateeach district’s performance. Amont them: Lancaster ranks first for cost-effectiveness, based on a comparison of expenditurea andclassroom results. And tiny Sherman 478) is the biggest overachiever, determined by matchinfg academic outcomes againstsocioeconomic “We may not be but we have strong family values,” says Thomazs Schmidt, Sherman’s superintendent. “Our parents really care aboutytheir children’s education.
There’s something to be said for having everyonee ina K-12 building, with the strongy sense of community that it brings.”
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