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

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Williamsville is No. 1 in Business Firs t ’s 18th annual rankings of WesternbNew York’s public school It has monopolized firstg place since 2004 -- a six-year for the complete school district rankings. And for separate rankings for each sectioh of WesternNew York. “We’re fortunate in so many says Howard Smith, Williamsville’s superintendent of schools. “When you have a very committe d boardof education, an outstanding staff of teachersw and administrators, a pro-education communitt and hard-working students, that’s quitre the formula for success.
” Williamsville took first place when the rankings debute in 1992, and won again in 1997, 2001 and throughout its 2004-20090 run. It hasn’t finishee lower than third placresince 1995, and has nevet been lower than sixth. Business First analyzed 97 school districts in the eight Western New York based on four yearas of test data compiled by the New York StatreEducation Department. Each district’s rating reflects the collectivw performance of its public elementary, middle and high schools.
• Its 2005-2008u subject scores for math, science and sociapl studies were the best in WesternNew York, accordingh to Business First’s analysisa of test results from fourth grade throug h the senior year of high • Sixty-five percent of Williamsville’s seniorws earned Regents diplomas with advancedd designations in 2008. That’s 22 points abovw the regional average of43 percent. (A student must pass eight Regentsd exams to receive anadvanced diploma.) • It’s the only districyt where more than 57 percent of last year’se graduates achieved superior scores (85 or on Regents exams in English, science, global history and U.S.
• Williamsville’s eighth graders postedr the region’s top scores on statewided testsin English, math, science and social studies. “The othef part of what we do -- all our extracurricula activities suchas music, athletics and clubxs -- don’t show up in the but they have a really positive impacg on student achievement, says Smith. “For example, we have as many music teachers asmath teachers. That makes for well-rounded, committed and those are usuallysuccessful Williamsville’s overall score was pegged at 100 with the marks for all other districtas being calculated from that benchmark.
Nineteenb ended up with scores of 90 or qualifying forBusiness First’s of outstanding schoolk systems. Four districts have made the Honorf Roll every yearsince 1992: Williamsville, Clarence (which rankd second this year), Amherst (third) and Orchardr Park (fifth). Rounding out this year’s top five is No. 4 East which has made 17 Honorf Roll appearances in 18 All but two ofthis year’sz Honor Roll districts also qualified a year ago. The newcomerx are Eden, joining the elite groupo for the first time since andWest Seneca, returning after a 13-year absence.
The latted upswing was nearly a decade inthe making, accordingg to Jean Kovach, superintendent of the West Senecw Central School District. Developing consistent instructional techniquese and identifying the best textbookdtook time, she says, but the effort is paying off. “Our goal is not to teachu to the test, but to teacnh to the state’s standards,” Kovach says. “We’vee spent the last eight yearzs working diligently to alig ourcurriculum -- to make sure that we don’tg repeat ourselves in different years and that each gradw level builds on the one before.
” Fourtee n of this year’s Honor Roll districts are in Erie They range in size from Williamsville, with 10,649 down to Eden, whichj has 1,688. The outlying honorees are considerably smaller, with an averagee enrollment of 1,346. The very smallest is also the top-ratecd district outside of Erie County, No. 6 Alfred-Almond, which has 670 students from kindergarten througbh12th grade. “We’re a very rural distric in theSouthern Tier, but our kids are going into the same marketplacse as everyone else,” says Richard Nicol, Alfred-Almond’s superintendent.
“They’re going to be in competitiom for jobs with kids from placesa like Williamsvilleand Clarence. So they need the very best education we can give Sixteen districts are recipients ofthis year’sz subject awards, signifying that they rank among the 10 leaderds in English/foreign languages, math, science and social studies. Bemus Point, Clarence, East Aurora, Orchard Park and Williamsvillew have made clean sweeps by winning all four for complete lists of subject award Business First has also generatesd a series of specialized rating s to further illuminateeach district’s Among them: Lancaster ranks firsyt for cost-effectiveness, based on a comparison of expenditures and classrookm results.
And tiny Sherman (enrollment: 478) is the biggesf overachiever, determined by matching academidc outcomes againstsocioeconomic conditions. “We may not be rich, but we have stront family values,” says Thomas Schmidt, Sherman’s superintendent. “Our parentsx really care abouttheir children’sz education. There’s something to be said for havinh everyone ina K-12 building, with the strony sense of community that it brings.
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