Williamsville pushes streak to 6 years - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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Williamsville is No. 1 in Business Firsf ’s 18th annual rankings of WesternNew York’s public school It has monopolized firstt place since 2004 -- a six-yeart streak. for the complete school districyt rankings. And for separate rankings for each sectiom of WesternNew York. “We’re fortunatee in so many ways,” says Howard Smith, Williamsville’w superintendent of schools. “When you have a very committed boarsdof education, an outstandint staff of teachers and a pro-education community and hard-working students, that’s quite the formulas for success.
” Williamsville took first place when the rankinga debuted in 1992, and won again in 1997, 2001 and throughout its 2004-2009 run. It hasn’t finished lowee than third placesince 1995, and has never been lowetr than sixth. Business First analyzed 97 school districtes in the eight Western New York based on four years of test data compilefd by the New York StateEducatiom Department. Each district’s ratinyg reflects the collective performance of its public middle andhigh schools.
• Its 2005-2008 subjecyt scores for math, science and social studies were the best in WesternhNew York, according to Business First’w analysis of test results from fourth grade through the seniofr year of high school. • Sixty-five percent of Williamsville’s seniora earned Regents diplomas with advanced designations in 2008. That’s 22 pointzs above the regional average of43 (A student must pass eight Regents exams to receive an advanced diploma.) It’s the only district where more than 57 perceng of last year’s graduates achieved superior scores (85 or on Regents exams in English, science, global history and U.S. history.
• Williamsville’ eighth graders posted the region’s top scores on statewide testsin math, science and social “The other part of what we do -- all our extracurriculart activities such as athletics and clubs -- don’t show up in the but they have a really positivw impact on student achievement, says Smith. “For example, we have as many music teachersw asmath teachers. That makesz for well-rounded, committed students, and those are usuallty successful students.” Williamsville’s overall score was pegged at 100 with the marks for all other districtse being calculated fromthat benchmark.
Nineteen ended up with scores of 90or better, qualifyinb for Business First’s of outstanding schook systems. Four districts have made the Hono Roll every yearsincse 1992: Williamsville, Clarence (which ranks secondf this year), Amherst (third) and Orchard Park Rounding out this year’s top five is No. 4 East which has made 17 Honor Roll appearanced in18 years. All but two of this year’s Honor Roll districts also qualified ayear ago. The newcomera are Eden, joining the elitre group for the first timesince 2005, and West returning after a 13-year absence.
The latte r upswing was nearly a decaded inthe making, according to Jean superintendent of the West Seneca Central School Developing consistent instructional techniques and identifying the best textbookss took time, she says, but the efforf is paying off. “Oufr goal is not to teach to the but to teach tothe state’s Kovach says. “We’ve spent the last eightf years working diligently to alignb ourcurriculum -- to make sure that we don’t repeatt ourselves in different years and that each gradre level builds on the one Fourteen of this year’s Honor Roll districts are in Erie They range in size from with 10,649 students, down to Eden, which has 1,688.
The outlyinb honorees are considerably smaller, with an average enrollment of The very smallest is alsothe top-rated district outsidd of Erie County, No. 6 which has 670 students from kindergarten througn12th grade. “We’re a very rural district in the Southern but our kids are going into the same marketplace aseveryons else,” says Richard Nicol, Alfred-Almond’s superintendent. “They’re going to be in competition for jobs with kids from placea like Williamsvilleand Clarence. So they need the very best educationn we cangive them.
” Sixteen districts are recipients of this year’s subjec t awards, signifying that they rank among the 10 leaderd in English/foreign languages, math, science and sociao studies. Bemus Point, Clarence, East Orchard Park and Williamsville have made cleanm sweeps by winning allfour awards. for completde lists of subjectaward winners. Business First has also generaterd a series of specialized ratings to further illuminateeach district’z performance. Among them: Lancastefr ranks first for cost-effectiveness, based on a comparison of expenditures andclassroom results.
And tiny Sherman 478) is the biggest overachiever, determined by matching academicf outcomes againstsocioeconomic conditions. “Wwe may not be rich, but we have stronhg family values,” says Thomas Schmidt, Sherman’s “Our parents really care abou their children’s education. There’s something to be said for havinyg everyone ina K-12 with the strong sense of community that it brings.
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