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Amherst's Smallwood Drive School ranks No. 1 again. It leads Westernn New York's elementary schools for the third consecutivesyear -- and the fourthj out of five. "That's really a tribute to the staff at Smallwood and their commitment to And to the parentsas well," says Lauraw Chabe, superintendent of the Amherst Centra School District. "We're fortunate to have a communit y that is so supportive of for the complete elementaryschool rankings. And for separatw rankings for each sectiomn of WesternNew York.
The present stability is quite a switch fromthe 2004-2006y period, when three publicx elementary schools, including Smallwood, took turns at the top of the (Business First produced separate rankings of publicc and private schools until 2007, when the two listss were merged.) Smallwood has been remarkablyu consistent since then. Its four-yeat rating for English language artsis second-besrt among all Western New York elementary according to a Business Firsyt analysis of 2005-2008 test And its math rating also is second-highest in the eight-county Chabe says the school's successes in English and math are interrelated, thankds in part to a districtwide policy.
"We have a strong curriculuj that is focusedon literacy," she "which I think has been instrumental in helpingh kids be successful in all not just English." Business First assesseds 292 elementary schools across Westerhn New York, using four years of test data for fourthn graders. All test scores came from the . The them e of stability extends toseconed place, which is held by Orcharxd Park's South Davis Elementary School, just as it was in 2008. Roundinvg out this year's top five are Maple East ElementarSchool (Williamsville), Southern Tier Catholic School and Charlotte Avenue Elementary School (Hamburg).
Maple East leads all Western New York elementary schools in based onBusiness First's four-year analysis. Sixty-six percent of its fourth graders achieved superiotscores (Level 4) on the statewide math test in 2008. The regionalp average was 24 percent. Principal Cathy Mihalid is still learning the ropes atMaple East. She arrived in January from Hamburg's Armo r Elementary School, which ranks 19th this "I knew the (Williamsville) district had a long-standinvg reputation for excellence, and that Maple East was one ofthe highest-performinhg schools," she says. "uI knew it would be a stimulatinfg atmosphere, and it is. We have a very dedicatexd staff.
They work hard to help our kids achieve at ahigher rate." Southern Tier Catholic, with 103 students from pre-kindergartenj through eighth grade, is the smallest schookl in the upper echelon of the elementary school It's also the fastest riser, soaringf from 31st place in 2007 to 15th in then up to fourth place this year. All of Southern Tier Catholic's fourth graders demonstrated basicskills (Level 3 or 4) on both the statewidw English and math tests, a feat equaled by just six other Western New York schools.
"We have smallet classes, obviously, so we can give a good bit of one-on-ones help to our kids," says Daniel McCarthy, the principalp of Southern Tier Catholic. "Oure teachers work very hard at and itpays off." Forty-one schools are recipientx of subject awards, which are give n to the top 10 percent of all Wester n New York elementary schools in Englisgh language arts and mathematics. for complete listsx of subjectaward winners. Nineteen honoreesd have scoredclean sweeps, taking awards in both fields. Included in that groupp are Smallwood and the other nine members of the overaltop 10.
Niagara-Wheatfield's Errick Road Elementary whichranks 23rd, also has a pair of subjectg awards. Principal Nora O'Bryan credits a personalized approach tostuden achievement. "There's no such thingy as one size fits all," she says. "Idf a student needs extraq help, we provide it. If studenta are working above grade level, we find books and materialzs to push themeven more." The Busines First rankings don't include private elementary schools that have opteds out of the statewided testing program. Prominent in that group are Elmwood Franklin Schoopl and Park Schoolof Buffalo.
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