MONTGOMERY, AL - Twenty-five Alabama public school systems have been nationally recognized by the 19th annual SchoolMatch® “What Parents Want” Award. These awards are presented to only 2,407 of America’s 15,571 public school systems for making noteworthy strides to meet the educational needs of their communities. Alabama also had 25 school systems make the list in 2008 and 2009.
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 more than a decade. The “What Parents Want” Award originated in 1992 and recognizes systems that meet standards of excellence in seven criteria:
1. Competitive academic test scores
2. Accreditation
3. Recognition for excellence by a national foundation or the U.S. Department of Education
4. Competitive teacher salaries
5. Above (national) average instructional expenditures
6. Above (national) average expenditures for library/media services
7. Small class sizes
A compilation of over 95,000 parent questionnaires completed by SchoolMatch® clients reveals these seven criteria as the qualities parents most often look for in school systems. Only school systems with secondary schools are eligible for the award.
An April 1, 2010, search of the twenty-two field SchoolMatch® Database revealed that only 16 percent of the nation’s public schools consistently provide “What Parents Want” in public education. The SchoolMatch® staff of school experts salutes those school systems that 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.
For more information about SchoolMatch®, call 614-890-1573 or visit www.schoolmatch.com.
Alabama’s 2010 “What Parents Want” Award Winners
SCHOOL SYSTEM |
TOTAL YEARS |
YEARS RECOGNIZED |
Arab City |
15 |
1996-2010 |
Athens City |
15 |
1996-2010 |
Auburn City |
15 |
1996-2010 |
Baldwin County |
11 |
1998 and 2001-2010 |
Daleville City |
16 |
1995-2010 |
Decatur City |
16 |
1995-2010 |
Dothan City |
13 |
1998-2010 |
Enterprise City |
16 |
1995-2010 |
Florence City |
16 |
1995-2010 |
Hartselle City |
15 |
1996-2010 |
Homewood City |
17 |
1992 and 1995-2010 |
Hoover City |
15 |
1996-2010 |
Huntsville City |
17 |
1994-2010 |
Jacksonville City |
7 |
2004-2010 |
Jefferson County |
14 |
1992 and 1998-2010 |
Madison County |
13 |
1998-2010 |
Mobile County |
13 |
1998-2010 |
Mountain Brook City |
19 |
1992-2010 |
Muscle Shoals City |
16 |
1995-2010 |
Opelika City |
4 |
2007-2010 |
Ozark City |
15 |
1996-2010 |
Shelby County |
13 |
1998-2010 |
Trussville City |
5 |
2006-2010 |
Tuscaloosa City |
15 |
1996-2010 |
Vestavia Hills City |
17 |
1992 and 1995-2010 |
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