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NATIONAL SURVEY SAYS 25 ALABAMA SCHOOL SYSTEMS KNOW “WHAT PARENTS WANT”
MONTGOMERY,
AL —
Twenty-five Alabama public school systems have been nationally
recognized by SchoolMatch’s 18th annual “What Parents
Want Award.” These awards are presented to only 2,436 of America’s
15,571 public school districts for making noteworthy strides to meet the
needs of their communities. Alabama also had 25 school systems make the
list in 2008.
SchoolMatch,
the nation’s largest school selection consulting firm, helps
corporate employee families find schools that match the needs of their
children. The majority of Alabama’s recognized school systems have
consistently received the “What Parents Want Award” for most of the last
decade. The award, which originated in 1992, recognizes systems that
meet standards of excellence in seven criteria:
·
Competitive academic test scores
·
Accreditation
·
Recognition for excellence by a national foundation or the U.S.
Department of Education
·
Competitive teacher salaries
· Above
(national) average instructional expenditures
· Above
(national) average expenditures for library/media services
· Small
class sizes
An April 1, 2009, search of the twenty-two field SchoolMatch®
Database revealed that only 16% of the nation's public schools
consistently provide "What Parents Want" in public education. The
SchoolMatch® staff of school experts salutes those school districts
which are meeting the needs and desires of both students and parents.
Corporations and consumers use SchoolMatch® when moving across town,
up-grading residences, relocating to a new area, when negotiating child
custody issues and for general information about schools.
School administrators use SchoolMatch® to focus on goals for
school system improvement based upon the performance of other "mean
matched" schools, a method of comparing their school system with those
that have similar characteristics. SchoolMatch® has successfully
conducted more than 1,000 Educational Effectiveness Audits of school
systems throughout the country.
A collection of over 97,000 parent questionnaires completed by
SchoolMatch clients reveals that the seven items are the qualities
parents most often look for in school systems. Only secondary schools
are eligible for this distinction since parents usually try to find
school systems that produce quality high school graduates. The systems
were judged using auditable information gathered annually state-by-state
from sources including county assessors, county auditors, state taxing
authorities, and state departments of education.
For more information about SchoolMatch, call (614) 890-1573
or visit the Web site at
www.schoolmatch.com.
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