By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
Last month, “Business First” — a Buffalo-based business newspaper — released its 2019 academic rankings of Upstate New York’s public school districts.
This year, after analyzing the academic records of 431 Upstate districts, the magazine ranked Cazenovia fourth overall.
“The Cazenovia Central School District is very proud of this accomplishment,” said Benjamin New, the district’s director of curriculum and instruction. “This [was made] possible by every member of the district working toward what is best for [our] kids. We will continue to enhance our educational program to support our students as they grow academically, socially and emotionally.”
The rankings were based on a broad spectrum of data from the New York State Education Department.
Each district’s rank reflects the collective performance of its elementary, middle and high schools from 2015 to 2018.
The top 10 school systems (from top-to-bottom) this year were Pittsford, Fayetteville-Manlius, Honeoye Falls-Lima, Cazenovia, Bethlehem, Skaneateles, Brighton, Penfield, East Aurora and Williamsville.
Each of the top 10 districts ranked seventh or better in at least one of the subject areas analyzed (English, mathematics, science and social studies) and had advanced diploma rates higher than 62 percent — compared to the Upstate New York average of 43 percent. Eight of the top 10 districts posted rates above 70 percent.
Listed below are some of the rankings for Cazenovia Central School District (CSD) in specific performance areas, as reported on the Business First website.
Core subject area rankings
English — 14th
Math — 8th
Science — 3rd
Social Studies — 5th
Specialized rankings
Cost-effectiveness (leading districts achieve educational excellence despite low spending rates) — 7th
Achievement Index (leading districts post strong academic records despite sizable poverty rates) — 156th
Administrative Efficiency (leading districts have tight budgets and lean staffs, regardless of academic performance) — 103rd
Teacher Pay (leading districts offer the highest salaries and strongest benefits for teachers) — 123rd
“Congratulations and thanks to our students, faculty, staff, and community on these recognitions,” said Cazenovia CSD Superintendent Matthew Reilly in a post on the district website. “While we value the many areas that the metrics measure, we also recognize the importance of the attributes of our students that are less easily measured like compassion, citizenship, persistence, humor and confidence. In these areas and others, our students excel above any that I have had the honor of working with.”
According to its website, Business First began releasing yearly performance ratings for schools in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area in 1992. In 2010, the newspaper added rankings for the Rochester Area. These regional endeavors inspired the 2011 launch of the Upstate rankings, which encompass all 48 New York State counties north of the 42nd parallel.
Cazenovia has ranked in the top 10 overall every year since 2011.
“We are proud of the consistently high overall ranking by Buffalo Business First,” Reilly said. “The district has been recognized in the top five overall for at least the past five years. Rankings like these are really just the collateral positives that happen when you have hard-working students and teachers and the support of an incredible community. We will continue to strive to improve, helping every child to reach their potential in an environment that is both challenging and supportive.”
To learn more about the Business First Upstate academic rankings, visit bizjournals.com.
