Williamsville pushes streak to 6 years - Dayton Business Journal:

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Williamsville is No. 1 in Business Firsty ’s 18th annual rankings of WesternNew York’se public school systems. It has monopolized firsg place since2004 -- a six-year for the complete school district And for separate rankings for each section of Western New “We’re fortunate in so many says Howard Smith, Williamsville’s superintendent of “When you have a very committed board of education, an outstandinb staff of teachers and a pro-education community and hard-working students, that’ds quite the formula for success.
” Williamsviller took first place when the rankingz debuted in 1992, and won agaih in 1997, 2001 and throughout its 2004-2009 run. It hasn’g finished lower than thired placesince 1995, and has never been lower than Business First analyzed 97 schook districts in the eight Westerjn New York counties, basesd on four years of test data compiled by the New York Statw Education Department. Each district’s rating reflects the collective performance of its public middle andhigh • Its 2005-2008 subject scores for science and social studies were the best in Western New according to Business First’s analysis of test resultsx from fourth grade through the seniore year of high school.
• Sixty-fiv percent of Williamsville’s seniors earned Regents diplomas with advancedc designationsin 2008. That’x 22 points above the regional average of43 (A student must pass eight Regents examz to receive an advanced • It’s the only district where more than 57 percentr of last year’s graduatesx achieved superior scores (85 or better) on Regents exams in math, science, global history and U.S. • Williamsville’s eighth graders postexd the region’s top scores on statewide testesin English, math, science and social studies.
“Th e other part of what we do -- all our extracurricular activities such as athletics andclubs -- don’t show up in the but they have a really positiv impact on student achievement, too,” says Smith. “Fot example, we have as many music teacherw asmath teachers. That makes for well-rounded, committed students, and those are usually successful students.” Williamsville’x overall score was pegged at 100 with the marks for all other districts beintg calculated fromthat benchmark. Nineteen ended up with scored of 90or better, qualifying for Business First’sx of outstanding school systems.
Four districts have made the Honor Roll every yearsince 1992: Clarence (which ranks second this year), Amhers (third) and Orchard Park (fifth). Rounding out this year’e top five is No. 4 East which has made 17 Honor Roll appearancez in18 years. All but two of this year’sa Honor Roll districts also qualified ayear ago. The newcomers are joining the elite group for the first time since andWest Seneca, returning after a 13-yeaf absence. The latter upswing was nearlt a decade inthe making, according to Jean Kovach, superintendent of the West Senecwa Central School District.
Developing consistenrt instructional techniques and identifying the best textbook stook time, she but the effort is paying off. “Ourt goal is not to teach to the test, but to teachj to the state’s standards,” Kovach says. “We’ve spenf the last eight years workingy diligently to align ourcurriculum -- to make sure that we don’tg repeat ourselves in different yearas and that each grade level builds on the one Fourteen of this year’s Honor Roll districts are in Erie They range in size from Williamsville, with 10,64o9 students, down to Eden, which has The outlying honorees are considerablyt smaller, with an average enrollment of The very smallest is also the top-rated districy outside of Erie County, No.
6 which has 670 studentds from kindergarten through12th grade. “We’re a very rural district in the Southern but our kids are going into the same marketplace aseveryone else,” says Richard Nicol, Alfred-Almond’s “They’re going to be in competition for jobs with kids from place s like Williamsville and Clarence. So they need the very best educatiojn we cangive them.” Sixteenb districts are recipients of this year’ws subject awards, signifying that they rank among the 10 leaderss in English/foreign languages, math, science and socialo studies.
Bemus Point, Clarence, East Aurora, Orchard Park and Williamsvillr have made clean sweeps by winning all four for complete lists of subjectaward winners. Business First has also generaterd a series of specialized ratings to furtherr illuminateeach district’s performance. Amonyg them: Lancaster ranks first for cost-effectiveness, basede on a comparison of expenditures and classroom And tinySherman 478) is the biggest overachiever, determinedf by matching academic outcomes againsrt socioeconomic conditions. “We may not be rich, but we have strong familt values,” says Thomas Schmidt, Sherman’a superintendent.
“Our parents really care about theird children’s education. There’s something to be said for having everyone ina K-12 building, with the strongb sense of community that it brings.”