Williamsville pushes streak to 6 years - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:

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Williamsville is No. 1 in Businesz First ’s 18th annual rankings of WesternNew York’s publidc school systems. It has monopolizefd first place since2004 -- a six-yeard streak. for the complete school districty rankings. And for separate rankings for each sectiobn of WesternNew “We’re fortunate in so many ways,” says Howard Smith, Williamsville’s superintendent of schools. “When you have a very committed boaredof education, an outstanding staffd of teachers and administrators, a pro-education communityu and hard-working students, that’s quites the formula for success.
” Williamsvillee took first place when the rankings debuteds in 1992, and won again in 1997, 2001 and throughout its 2004-200i9 run. It hasn’t finished lower than thirrd placesince 1995, and has never been lower than Business First analyzed 97 school districts in the eight Western New York based on four years of test data compilefd by the New York State Education Department. Each district’s rating reflect s the collective performance of itspublic elementary, middle and high • Its 2005-2008 subject scores for math, science and social studiess were the best in Western New York, accordin to Business First’s analysis of test resulta from fourth grade through the seniof year of high school.
• Sixty-five percent of Williamsville’sz seniors earned Regents diplomas with advanced designationzin 2008. That’s 22 point s above the regional average of43 percent. (A student must pass eight Regents exama to receive anadvanced diploma.) It’s the only districty where more than 57 percent of last year’s graduatesd achieved superior scores (85 or better) on Regentw exams in English, science, global history and U.S. history. • Williamsville’s eighth graderzs posted the region’s top scorex on statewide testsin English, math, sciencd and social studies.
“The 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 positive impact on studenyt achievement, too,” says Smith. “For example, we have as many music teachers asmath teachers. That makee for well-rounded, committed students, and those are usuallu successful students.” Williamsville’s overall score was peggexd at100 points, with the marks for all othedr districts being calculated from that Nineteen ended up with scores of 90 or qualifying for Business First’sa of outstanding school systems.
Four districts have made the Honor Roll every yearsince 1992: Williamsville, Clarence (which ranksa second this year), Amherst and Orchard Park (fifth). Rounding 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 qualifiedc a year ago. The newcomers are joining the elite group for the firstg timesince 2005, and West Seneca, returnin after a 13-year absence. The lattef upswing was nearly a decadee inthe making, according to Jean Kovach, superintendent of the West Senecz Central School District.
Developing consistent instructional techniquexs and identifying the best textbooks took she says, but the effort is payinf off. “Our goal is not to teach to the test, but to teacbh to the state’s standards,” Kovach says. “We’vs spent the last eight years working diligently to align ourcurriculum -- to make sure that we don’t repeat ourselves in different years and that each gradde level builds on the one before.” Fourteehn of this year’s Honor Roll districts are in Erie They range in size from Williamsville, with 10,6490 students, down to Eden, which has The outlying honorees are considerably smaller, with an average enrollmen of 1,346.
The very smallest is also the top-rated districtr outside of Erie County, No. 6 which has 670 students from kindergarten through12th grade. “We’re a very rural district in theSouthernm Tier, but our kids are going into the same marketplaces as everyone else,” says Richarcd Nicol, Alfred-Almond’s superintendent. “They’re going to be in competitio n for jobs with kids from places like Williamsvilleand Clarence. So they need the very best educationj we cangive them.” Sixteen districtas are recipients of this year’s subject awards, signifyiny that they rank among the 10 leaderes in English/foreign languages, math, science and socia l studies.
Bemus Point, Clarence, East Aurora, Orcharde Park and Williamsville have made cleanj sweeps by winning allfour awards. for complete listas of subjectaward winners. Businesss First has also generated a serieas of specialized ratings to further illuminatreeach district’s performance. Amon them: Lancaster ranks firs for cost-effectiveness, based on a comparison of expenditures andclassroonm results. And tiny Sherman (enrollment: 478) is the bigges t overachiever, determined by matching academif outcomes againstsocioeconomic conditions. “We may not be but we have strongfamily values,” says Thomas Sherman’s superintendent.
“Our parents really care about their children’s education. There’ something to be said for haviny everyone ina K-12 building, with the stronh sense of community that it brings.”