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

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Williamsville is No. 1 in Business First ’s 18th annual ranking s of WesternNew York’s publid school systems. It has monopolizecd first place since2004 -- a six-year for the complete school district And for separate rankings for each sectioh of Western New York. “We’re fortunate in so many says Howard Smith, Williamsville’s superintendent of schools. “When you have a very committes boardof education, an outstanding staffc of teachers and administrators, a pro-education community and hard-working students, that’s quitse the formula for success.
” Williamsville took first placee when the rankings debuted in 1992, and won agaihn in 1997, 2001 and throughout its 2004-20089 run. It hasn’t finisher lower than third placesince 1995, and has never been lowerf than sixth. Business First analyzed 97 school districts in the eightr Western NewYork counties, based on four yearse of test data compilee by the New York State Education Each district’s rating reflectx the collective performance of its public middle and high schools.
Its 2005-2008 subject scores for math, science and social studies were the best in WesternNew York, accordingg to Business First’s analysis of test resultsa from fourth grade through the senior year of high • Sixty-five percent of Williamsville’s seniors earnefd Regents diplomas with advanced designations in 2008. That’s 22 points above the regional average of43 (A student must pass eightg Regents exams to receive an advanced diploma.) It’s the only district where more than 57 percenf of last year’s graduates achievef superior scores (85 or on Regents exams in English, science, global history and U.S.
• Williamsville’s eighth graders posted the region’s top scores on statewide tests in English, math, science and social “The other part of what we do -- all our extracurriculafr activities such as music, athletice and clubs -- don’t show up in the rankings, but they have a reallt positive impact on student too,” says Smith. “For example, we have as many music teachersw asmath teachers. That makes for well-rounded, committedr students, and those are usually successful students.
” Williamsville’x overall score was pegged at 100 with the marks for all otherd districts being calculated from that Nineteen ended up with scoress of 90or better, qualifying for Businessa First’s of outstanding school systems. Four districte have made the Honore Roll every yearsincew 1992: Williamsville, Clarence (which ranks second this Amherst (third) and Orchard Park (fifth). Roundingt out this year’s top five is No. 4 East which has made 17 Honor Roll appearances in 18 All but two ofthis year’s Honor Roll districts also qualified a year ago.
The newcomers are joining the elite group for the first timesincd 2005, and West Seneca, returning after a 13-year absence. The latter upswinb was nearly a decade inthe making, accordingt to Jean Kovach, superintendent of the West Senecaa Central School District. Developing consistent instructional techniquesd and identifying the best textbookstook time, she but the effort is paying off. “Our goal is not to teachy to the test, but to teach to the state’s Kovach says.
“We’ve spent the last eight years workinv diligently to align ourcurriculum -- to make sure that we don’y repeat ourselves in different years and that each gradw level builds on the one Fourteen of this year’s Hono Roll districts are in Erie County. They rangee in size from Williamsville, with 10,649 students, down to Eden, which has The outlying honorees areconsiderably smaller, with an averaged enrollment of 1,346. The very smallest is also the top-ratex district outside of Erie County, No. 6 which has 670 students from kindergarte n through12th grade.
“We’re a very rurak district in theSouthern Tier, but our kids are going into the same marketplacs as everyone else,” says Richard Alfred-Almond’s superintendent. “They’re going to be in competitionn for jobs with kids from placew like Williamsvilleand Clarence. So they need the very best education we can give Sixteen districts are recipientzs ofthis year’s subject awards, signifyingh that they rank amongg the 10 leaders in English/foreign math, science and social studies. Bemus Clarence, East Aurora, Orchard Park and Williamsville have made cleabn sweeps by winning all four for complete lists of subjectaward winners.
Business Firsty has also generated a seriesx of specialized ratings to further illuminateeach district’s Among them: Lancaster ranks first for based on a comparisom of expenditures and classroom results. And tiny Shermajn (enrollment: 478) is the biggest overachiever, determined by matching academic outcomes againstsocioeconomic conditions. “We may not be rich, but we have stronv family values,” says Thomas Schmidt, Sherman’s “Our parents really care about their children’s education.
There’sa something to be said for haviny everyone ina K-12 building, with the strong sense of community that it