Williamsville pushes streak to 6 years - San Antonio Business Journal:

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Williamsville is No. 1 in Business First ’sz 18th annual rankings of WesternNew York’zs public school systems. It has monopolized first placr since2004 -- a six-yeard streak. for the complete school district rankings. And for separatew rankings for each section of WesternNew “We’re fortunate in so many says Howard Smith, Williamsville’s superintendengt of schools. “When you have a very committed board of an outstanding staff of teachersand administrators, a pro-educatiom community and hard-working students, that’s quite the formula for Williamsville took first place when the rankingsx debuted in 1992, and won again in 1997, 2001 and throughourt its 2004-2009 run.
It hasn’t finishes lower than third placesince 1995, and has never been lowee than sixth. Business First analyzed 97 school districts in the eight Western NewYork counties, basexd on four years of test data compile d by the New York State Education Department. Each district’xs rating reflects the collective performance of itspublicc elementary, middle and high schools. • Its 2005-200u subject scores for science and social studies were the best in WesternbNew York, according to Business First’as analysis of test results from fourth grade througy the senior year of high • Sixty-five percent of Williamsville’s seniors earnedr Regents diplomas with advanced designationsw in 2008.
That’s 22 pointe above the regional average of43 (A student must pass eight Regentss exams to receive an advancesd diploma.) • It’s the only district wherd more than 57 percent of last year’ graduates achieved superior scores (85 or on Regents exams in English, math, global history and U.S. history. • Williamsville’a eighth graders posted the region’s top scores on statewide testsain English, math, science and sociaol studies.
“The other part of what we do -- all our extracurriculatr activities suchas music, athleticsz and clubs -- don’t show up in the but they have a really positive impacr on student achievement, too,” says “For example, we have as many music teacherxs as math teachers. That makesz for well-rounded, committed students, and thosd are usually successful students.” Williamsville’s overall scor e was pegged at100 points, with the marks for all other districtsx being calculated from that benchmark. Nineteen ende up with scores of 90or better, qualifying for Business First’s of outstanding school systems.
Four districts have made the Honor Roll everyh yearsince 1992: Williamsville, Clarence (which rankd second this year), Amherst and Orchard Park (fifth). Rounding out this year’s top five is No. 4 East which has made 17 Honor Roll appearances in 18 All but two ofthis year’sw Honor Roll districts also qualified a year ago. The newcomerxs are Eden, joining the elite grouo for the first timesince 2005, and West Seneca, returning afterr a 13-year absence. The latter upswinh was nearly a decadee inthe making, accordinbg to Jean Kovach, superintendent of the West Seneca Central School District.
Developing consistent instructional technique and identifying the best textbooksxtook time, she says, but the effort is paying off. “Our goal is not to teach to the but to teach tothe state’s standards,” Kovach says. “We’ve spent the last eight years working diligently to align ourcurriculum -- to make sure that we don’g repeat ourselves in different yearw and that each grade level builds on the one Fourteen of this year’s Honor Roll district s are in Erie County. They range in size from with 10,649 students, down to which has 1,688. The outlying honorees are considerably with an average enrollmentof 1,346.
The very smallesg is also the top-rated districgt outside of Erie No. 6 Alfred-Almond, which has 670 students from kindergarten through12th grade. “We’re a very rural district in theSouthernm Tier, but our kids are going into the same marketplacd as everyone else,” says Richard Nicol, Alfred-Almond’s superintendent. “They’rr going to be in competitioh for jobs with kids from places like Williamsville and So they need the very best education we can give Sixteen districts are recipients ofthis year’s subjecgt awards, signifying that they rank among the 10 leaderx in English/foreign languages, math, science and sociaol studies.
Bemus Point, Clarence, East Aurora, Orchard Park and Williamsville have made clean sweeps by winninfg allfour awards. for completwe lists of subjectaward winners. Businessa First has also generated a seriesz of specialized ratings to furthe illuminateeach district’s Among them: Lancaster ranks first for cost-effectiveness, based on a compariso of expenditures and classroom results. And tiny Sherman 478) is the biggest overachiever, determine by matching academic outcomea againstsocioeconomic conditions. “We may not be but we have stronbfamily values,” says Thomas Schmidt, Sherman’s superintendent.
“Oufr parents really care abouttheit children’s education. There’s something to be said for havinbg everyone ina K-12 building, with the strong sense of community that it brings.”