Williamsville pushes streak to 6 years - Birmingham Business Journal:

inufyw.blogspot.com
Williamsville is No. 1 in Businesws First ’s 18th annual rankinge of WesternNew York’s public schoo systems. It has monopolized firstg place since2004 -- a six-yea streak. for the complete school district And for separate rankings for each section of WesterhnNew York. “We’re fortunate in so many says Howard Smith, Williamsville’s superintendent of “When you have a very committed board of an outstanding staff of teachersand administrators, a pro-education community and hard-working that’s quite the formula for Williamsville took first place when the rankingse debuted in 1992, and won agai in 1997, 2001 and throughout its 2004-200 run.
It hasn’t finished lower than thirds placesince 1995, and has never been lower than Business First analyzed 97 school districtds in the eight Western New York based on four years of test data compiled by the New York Stat e Education Department. Each district’s rating reflectsx the collective performance of itspublic elementary, middle and high schools. Its 2005-2008 subject scores for science and social studies were the best in Wester nNew York, according to Businesd First’s analysis of test resultx from fourth grade through the senior year of high • Sixty-five percent of Williamsville’s seniors earned Regents diplomaws with advanced designations in 2008.
That’sx 22 points above the regional average of43 percent. (A student must pass eighty Regents exams to receive anadvancex diploma.) • It’s the only district where more than 57 percenft of last year’s graduates achieved superior scores (85 or on Regents exams in English, math, global history and U.S. history. • Williamsville’s eighth grader posted the region’s top scores on statewide testain English, math, science and social “The other part of what we do -- all our extracurricula activities such as music, athletics and clubs -- don’t show up in the but they have a really positive impact on student achievement, says Smith.
“For example, we have as many music teachers as math That makesfor well-rounded, committed students, and those are usuallyh successful students.” Williamsville’s overall score was pegged at 100 with the marks for all othe districts being calculated from that benchmark. Nineteen endec up with scores of 90or better, qualifyingy for Business First’s of outstanding school systems. Four districtz have made the Honor Roll every yearsinces 1992: Williamsville, Clarence (which rankss second this year), Amherst (third) and Orchard Park (fifth). Rounding out this year’sd top five is No. 4 East Aurora, which has made 17 Honord Roll appearances in18 years.
All but two of this year’ss Honor Roll districts also qualified ayear ago. The newcomerss are Eden, joining the elite group for the first timesincer 2005, and West Seneca, returning after a 13-year absence. The latter upswing was nearly a decade in the according toJean Kovach, superintendent of the West Senecwa Central School District. Developing consistenrt instructional techniques and identifyint the best textbookstook time, she says, but the efforgt is paying off. “Our goal is not to teacjh to the test, but to teacjh to the state’s Kovach says.
“We’ve spent the last eight years workint diligently to align ourcurriculumk -- to make sure that we don’gt repeat ourselves in different years and that each gradd level builds on the one Fourteen of this year’se Honor Roll districts are in Erie They range in size from Williamsville, with 10,649 down to Eden, which has The outlying honorees are considerably with an average enrollment of 1,346. The very smalles t is also the top-rated district outside of Erie County, No. 6 which has 670 students from kindergartenh through12th grade.
“We’re a very rural district in the Southern but our kids are going into the same marketplaces aseveryone else,” says Richard Nicol, Alfred-Almond’x superintendent. “They’re going to be in competition for jobs with kids from placee like Williamsvilleand Clarence. So they need the very best education we can give Sixteen districts are recipients ofthis year’s subjectf awards, signifying that they rank among the 10 leaders in English/foreign languages, math, science and social studies. Bemus Clarence, East Aurora, Orcharsd Park and Williamsville have made cleanh sweeps by winning allfour awards. for complete lista of subject award winners.
Business First has also generatec a series of specialized ratings to furthetr illuminateeach district’s performance. Among them: Lancaster ranka first for cost-effectiveness, based on a comparison of expenditure andclassroom results. And tiny Sherman 478) is the biggest overachiever, determined by matchinfg academic outcomes againstsocioeconomic conditions. “We may not be but we have strongfamilu values,” says Thomas Schmidt, Sherman’sa superintendent. “Our parents really care aboutgtheir children’s education. There’s something to be said for havingb everyone ina K-12 building, with the strongh sense of community that it brings.
”