Wednesday, September 06, 2000
Talawanda schools among top 100, says national parenting magazine
By Sue Kiesewetter
Enquirer Contributor
A new parenting magazine has recognized something parents and educators in the Talawanda and Fort Thomas schools have known for a long time: Students are getting a good education in a community that also offers affordable living.
In its September/October issue, Offspring rated the two Tristate school districts among the nation's top 100. It took into consideration three things: cost of living, academic performance and money spent per pupil, excluding dollars for construction. To keep a geographic perspective, the magazine divided schools into seven regions and reviewed schools in each area.
Talawanda was among the honorees in the Great Lakes region that included Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. Fort Thomas Independent Schools was listed in the South region that included Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
“I hope this raises people's approval rating of Talawanda,” said Superintendent Susan Cobb. “We are so focused right now on our difficulties — lowest tax rate in the county, lowest teacher pay in the county, our third try at an operating levy — as opposed to the positives we see day in and day out with our students.”
Data used to evaluate schools from across the country came from SchoolMatch, a Columbus, Ohio, research firm that specializes in collecting data from the nation's public and private schools. Analysis by the magazine ranked Talawanda at the 96th percentile and Fort Thomas at the 97th percentile for student performance based on SAT and ACT college entrance test scores and number of National Merit Scholars since 1985.
Talawanda's cost of living ranked at the 53rd percentile, while Fort Thomas' was at the 79th percentile. In the expenditure per pupil category, Talawanda was among the lowest, ranking at the 18th percentile, while Fort Thomas was slightly higher than average, at the 57th percentile.
“A lot of it (success) is tradition,” said Larry Stinson, superintendent of the Fort Thomas schools. “People have held the schools in high regards for decades. As a result we have a quality staff who want to be here and capable students and high parental involvement. It all fits together.”
Certificates noting the honor will be mounted and put on display in all the schools in both districts, Mr. Stinson and Ms. Cobb said.
“It boils down to what the teachers are doing,” said William Vollmer, president of the Talawanda Board of Education. “A lot of people are doing a lot of good things with limited funds. We've known for a long time how good our teachers are.”
Added Ms. Cobb: “Our community has been getting a good value for their dollar. This was a great opportunity to see how we stack up in the region.”
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