21 School Districts Win Award: OHIO FIRM DOLES OUT HONORS FOR MEETING PARENTS’ NEEDS

By The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.

May 31–An annual survey says 21 Kentucky school districts have what parents are looking for in their children’s education.

The Fayette, Jessamine, Woodford and Madison school districts were among the districts selected to receive the 15th Annual “What Parents Want” Award.

The designation is awarded annually to 2,500 of the country’s 15,573 school districts by SchoolMatch, an Ohio research firm that collects and audits information about public and private school districts.

The consulting firm helps corporate employees find schools that match the needs of their children. This year, the organization surveyed more than 95,000 parents about what traits they look for in schools.

The districts are assessed according to their academic performance, competitive test scores, national recognition for excellence, competitive teacher salaries and small class sizes.

In addition, districts must demonstrate above-average instructional expenditures, based on national percentiles. They also must show above-average spending for library/media services.

In two counties, the independent and county school districts were both named in the 2006 list. They include the Frankfort Independent and Franklin County schools and the Elizabethtown Independent and Hardin County schools.

Other county districts to be recognized by SchoolMatch were Boone, Daviess, Jefferson, Kenton, McCracken, Oldham and Warren.

Other independent school districts recognized were Beechwood in Fort Mitchell, Erlanger-Elsmere, Fort Thomas, Murray, Pikeville and Russell.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.

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