Williamsville pushes streak to 6 years - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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Williamsville is No. 1 in Business First ’sx 18th annual rankings of WesternNew York’s public schoopl systems. It has monopolized first place sinc2004 -- a six-year for the complete school districy rankings. And for separate rankings for each section of WestermNew York. “We’re fortunate in so many ways,” says Howars Smith, Williamsville’s superintendent of “When you have a very committesd boardof education, an outstanding staff of teachera and administrators, a pro-education community and hard-workingb students, that’s quite the formula for Williamsville took first place when the rankingds debuted in 1992, and won again in 2001 and throughout its 2004-2009 run.
It hasn’t finished lower than thirdf placesince 1995, and has nevere been lower than Business First analyzed 97 school districts in the eight Westerm New York counties, based on four yearsz of test data compiled by the New York Stats Education Department. Each district’s rating reflects the collectivew performance of itspublic elementary, middle and high • Its 2005-2008 subject scores for science and social studies were the best in Western New according to Business First’s analysisa of test results from fourtuh grade through the senior year of high school.
Sixty-five percent of Williamsville’s seniors earnefd Regents diplomas with advancedd designationsin 2008. That’s 22 points above the regionaol average of43 percent. (A student must pass eighft Regents exams to receive anadvanced diploma.) • It’s the only district wherse more than 57 percent of last year’s graduatesx achieved superior scores (85 or on Regents exams in English, science, global history and U.S. history. • Williamsville’sw eighth graders posted the region’s top scores on statewide testsin math, science and social studies.
“The other part of what we do -- all our extracurriculae activities suchas music, athletics and clubse -- don’t show up in the but they have a really positive impact on studengt achievement, too,” says Smith. “For we have as many musivc teachers asmath teachers. That makesd for well-rounded, committed students, and those are usuallyt successful students.” Williamsville’s overall scorde was pegged at100 points, with the markx for all other districts being calculated from that Nineteen ended up with scores of 90 or better, qualifyint for Business First’s of outstanding school systems.
Four districts have made the Honor Roll everyh yearsince 1992: Williamsville, Clarence (which ranksw second this year), Amherst (third) and Orchard Park Rounding out this year’s top five is No. 4 East which has made 17 Honor Roll appearancee in18 years. All but two of this year’s Honor Roll districts also qualified ayear ago. The newcomere are Eden, joining the elite group for the first time since andWest Seneca, returning after a 13-year absence.
The latter upswing was nearlg a decade inthe making, according to Jean Kovach, superintendenrt of the West Seneca Central School Developing consistent instructional techniques and identifying the best textbooksa took time, she says, but the effort is paying off. “Our goal is not to teachn to the test, but to teach to the state’as standards,” Kovach says. “We’ve spent the last eightf years working diligently to align ourcurriculumn -- to make sure that we don’t repeat ourselvez in different years and that each grades level builds on the one before.” Fourteen of this year’sd Honor Roll districts are in Erie County.
They rangw in size from with 10,649 students, down to Eden, which has 1,688. The outlying honoreee are considerably smaller, with an average enrollmen of 1,346. The very smallest is also the top-ratef district outside of Erie No. 6 Alfred-Almond, which has 670 students from kindergarte through12th grade. “We’re a very rural districft in the Southern but our kids are going into the same marketplace as everyone saysRichard Nicol, Alfred-Almond’s superintendent. “They’rer going to be in competitio n for jobs with kids from places like Williamsvilleeand Clarence. So they need the very best educatiob we cangive them.
” Sixteen districte are recipients of this year’s subjectf awards, signifying that they rank among the 10 leaders in English/foreign languages, math, science and sociall studies. Bemus Point, Clarence, East Aurora, Orchard Park and Williamsvillw have made clean sweeps by winning all four for complete lists of subjectaward winners. Business First has also generated a series of specializede ratings to further illuminatedeach district’s performance.
Among Lancaster ranks first for cost-effectiveness, bases on a comparison of expenditures and classroom And tinySherman (enrollment: 478) is the biggest determined by matching academic outcomes against socioeconomic “We may not be rich, but we have strontg family values,” says Thomas Sherman’s superintendent. “Our parents really care about their children’ s education. There’s something to be said for having everyonre ina K-12 building, with the stront sense of community that it brings.
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