The elementary school category was once the most volatile component of
Business First's annual rankings. No longer.

Amherst's Smallwood Drive School ranks No. 1 again. It leads Western New
York's elementary schools for the third consecutive year -- and the fourth
out of five.

"That's really a tribute to the staff at Smallwood and their commitment to
excellence. And to the parents as well," says Laura Chabe, superintendent of
the Amherst Central School District. "We're fortunate to have a community
that is so supportive of education."

Full details will be available in Business First's 2009-10 Guide to Western
New York Schools, which hits newsstands Friday. Highlights are also
available at the newspaper's website: buffalo.bizjournals.com.

The present stability is quite a switch from the 2004-2006 period, when
three public elementary schools, including Smallwood, took turns at the top
of the standings. (Business First produced separate rankings of public and
private schools until 2007, when the two lists were merged.)

Smallwood has been remarkably consistent since then. Its four-year rating
for English language arts is second-best among all Western New York
elementary schools, according to a Business First analysis of 2005-2008 test
data. And its math rating also is second-highest in the eight-county region.

Chabe says the school's successes in English and math are interrelated,
thanks in part to a districtwide policy.

"We have a strong curriculum that is focused on literacy," she says, "which
I think has been instrumental in helping kids be successful in all subjects,
not just English."

Business First assessed 292 elementary schools across Western New York,
using four years of test data for fourth graders. All test scores came from
the New York State Education Department.

The theme of stability extends to second place, which is held by Orchard
Park's South Davis Elementary School, just as it was in 2008. Rounding out
this year's top five are Maple East Elementary School (Williamsville),
Southern Tier Catholic School (Olean) and Charlotte Avenue Elementary School
(Hamburg).

Maple East leads all Western New York elementary schools in math, based on
Business First's four-year analysis. Sixty-six percent of its fourth graders
achieved superior scores (Level 4) on the statewide math test in 2008. The
regional average was 24 percent.

Principal Cathy Mihalic is still learning the ropes at Maple East. She
arrived in January from Hamburg's Armor Elementary School, which ranks 19th
this year.

"I knew the (Williamsville) district had a long-standing reputation for
excellence, and that Maple East was one of the highest-performing schools,"
she says. "I knew it would be a stimulating atmosphere, and it is. We have a
very dedicated staff. They work hard to help our kids achieve at a higher
rate."

Southern Tier Catholic, with 103 students from pre-kindergarten through
eighth grade, is the smallest school in the upper echelon of the elementary
school standings. It's also the fastest riser, soaring from 31st place in
2007 to 15th in 2008, then up to fourth place this year.

All of Southern Tier Catholic's fourth graders demonstrated basic skills
(Level 3 or 4) on both the statewide English and math tests, a feat equaled
by just six other Western New York schools.

"We have smaller classes, obviously, so we can give a good bit of one-on-one
help to our kids," says Daniel McCarthy, the principal of Southern Tier
Catholic. "Our teachers work very hard at that, and it pays off."

Forty-one schools are recipients of subject awards, which are given to the
top 10 percent of all Western New York elementary schools in English
language arts and mathematics.

Nineteen honorees have scored clean sweeps, taking awards in both fields.
Included in that group are Smallwood and the other nine members of the
overall top 10.

Niagara-Wheatfield's Errick Road Elementary School, which ranks 23rd, also
has a pair of subject awards. Principal Nora O'Bryan credits a personalized
approach to student achievement.

"There's no such thing as one size fits all," she says. "If a student needs
extra help, we provide it. If students are working above grade level, we
find books and materials to push them even more."

The Business First rankings don't include private elementary schools that
have opted out of the statewide testing program. Prominent in that group are
Elmwood Franklin School and Park School of Buffalo.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

BUSINESS FIRST'S ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RANKINGS
(EACH SCHOOL IS FOLLOWED BY THE DISTRICT IN WHICH IT'S LOCATED; SEE BOTTOM
OF PAGE FOR ABBREVIATIONS)

1. Smallwood Drive School (Amherst)
2. South Davis ES (Orchard Park)
3. Maple East ES (Williamsville)
4. Southern Tier Catholic School (Olean)
5. Charlotte Avenue ES (Hamburg)
6. Ledgeview ES (Clarence)
7. Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary School (Iroquois)
8. St. Peter's Lutheran School (Niagara-Wheatfield)
9. Immaculate Conception School (East Aurora)
10. St. Gregory the Great School (Williamsville)
11. Christian Central Academy (Williamsville)
12. Maple West ES (Williamsville)
13. Harris Hill ES (Clarence)
14. Nardin Academy ES (Buffalo)
15. Country Parkway ES (Williamsville)
16. Ellicott Road ES (Orchard Park)
17. St. Stephen School (Grand Island)
18. St. John Lutheran School (Niagara-Wheatfield)
19. Armor ES (Hamburg)
20. St. Bernadette School (Orchard Park)
21. Christ the King School (Amherst)
22. Eggert Road ES (Orchard Park)
23. Errick Road ES (Niagara-Wheatfield)
24. Sheridan Hill ES (Clarence)
25. Dodge ES (Williamsville)
26. Forest ES (Williamsville)
27. North Tonawanda Catholic School (North Tonawanda)
28. Maplemere ES (Sweet Home)
29. St. Peter School (Lewiston-Porter)
30. Clinton ES (West Seneca)
31. P.S. 64 Frederick Law Olmsted (Buffalo)
32. Tapestry CS (Buffalo)
33. Huth Road School (Grand Island)
34. Mullen ES (Tonawanda)
35. Heim ES (Williamsville)
36. Kaegebein School (Grand Island)
37. Prospect ES (Attica)
38. St. Mary's School (Williamsville)
39. Alden IS (Alden)
40. Big Tree ES (Frontier)
41. Cayuga Heights ES (Depew)
42. Kadimah School of Buffalo (Amherst)
43. Willow Ridge ES (Sweet Home)
44. Nativity of Our Lord School (Orchard Park)
45. Ellicottville ES (Ellicottville)
46. Stella Niagara Education Park (Lewiston-Porter)
47. Pinehurst ES (Frontier)
48. Charles A. Lindbergh ES (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
49. Southwestern ES (Southwestern)
50. Main Street ES (East Aurora)
51. Pembroke IS (Pembroke)
52. St. Mark's School (Buffalo)
53. Starpoint IS (Starpoint)
54. East ES (West Seneca)
55. DeWitt Clinton ES (Lockport)
56. Charles A. Upson ES (Lockport)
57. Lyndonville ES (Lyndonville)
58. William Street School (Lancaster)
59. Alfred-Almond ES (Alfred-Almond)
60. Clarence Center ES (Clarence)
61. St. John the Baptist School (Alden)
62. St. Peter & Paul School (Williamsville)
63. Highland ES (Evans-Brant)
64. Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament School (Lancaster)
65. Immaculate Conception School (Wellsville)
66. Geraldine J. Mann School (Niagara Falls)
67. West ES (West Seneca)
68. Brant ES (Evans-Brant)
69. Catholic Academy of the Holy Family (Jamestown)
70. Boston Valley ES (Hamburg)
71. Iroquois IS (Iroquois)
72. St. Peter & Paul School (Hamburg)
73. Clymer Central School (Clymer)
74. St. Aloysius Regional School (Springville-Griffith Institute)
75. Southtowns Catholic School (Frontier)
76. Ohio School (North Tonawanda)
77. Thomas A. Edison ES (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
78. Queen of Heaven School (West Seneca)
79. John T. Waugh ES (Evans-Brant)
80. Wyoming Central School (Wyoming)
81. George Southard ES (Lockport)
82. Holy Ghost Lutheran School (Niagara-Wheatfield)
83. Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary School (Clarence)
84. Highland ES (Tonawanda)
85. Pratt ES (Barker)
86. St. Christopher's School (Sweet Home)
87. Lewiston-Porter Intermediate Education Center (Lewiston-Porter)
88. Notre Dame Academy (Buffalo)
89. Winchester ES (West Seneca)
90. Our Lady of Pompeii School (Lancaster)
91. Byron-Bergen ES (Byron-Bergen)
92. Windermere Boulevard School (Amherst)
93. Bemus ES (Bemus Point)
94. Ben Franklin ES (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
95. North Collins ES (North Collins)
96. Sherman ES (Sherman)
97. Gilmore School (North Tonawanda)
98. Northwood ES (West Seneca)
99. West Street ES (Niagara-Wheatfield)
100. Potters Road School (West Seneca)
101. Alexander Hamilton ES (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
102. DeSales Catholic ES (Lockport)
103. Northern Chautauqua Catholic School (Dunkirk)
104. Allendale ES (West Seneca)
105. St. Francis of Assisi School (Tonawanda)
106. Alexander ES (Alexander)
107. St. Amelia School (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
108. Union East ES (Cheektowaga)
109. Heritage Heights ES (Sweet Home)
110. St. Vincent DePaul School (Iroquois)
111. W.H. Stevenson ES (Wilson)
112. St. Joseph School (Batavia)
113. Thomas Marks ES (Wilson)
114. St. Matthew Lutheran School (North Tonawanda)
115. Ronald L. Sodoma ES (Albion)
116. Cleveland Hill ES (Cleveland Hill)
117. William T. Hoag ES (Evans-Brant)
118. St. Benedict's School (Amherst)
119. Glendale ES (Sweet Home)
120. Blasdell ES (Frontier)
121. St. John Vianney School (Orchard Park)
122. Allegany ES (Allegany-Limestone)
123. Andover School (Andover)
124. Thomas Jefferson ES (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
125. Maryvale IS (Cheektowaga-Maryvale)
126. Sheldon ES (Attica)
127. Mount St. Joseph Academy (Buffalo)
128. Cloverbank ES (Frontier)
129. Our Lady of Mount Carmel School (Niagara Falls)
130. A.J. Schmidt ES (Evans-Brant)
131. Eden ES (Eden)
132. Washington Hunt School (Lockport)
133. St. Mary's ES (Lancaster)
134. John E. Pound ES (Lockport)
135. Fillmore Central School (Fillmore)
136. Meadow School (North Tonawanda)
137. Herbert Hoover ES (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
138. Seneca ES (Salamanca)
139. Chautauqua Lake ES (Chautauqua Lake)
140. Colden ES (Springville-Griffith Institute)
141. Newfane IS (Newfane)
142. Windom ES (Orchard Park)
143. Fourteen Holy Helpers School (West Seneca)
144. St. Leo the Great School (Sweet Home)
145. Portville ES (Portville)
146. Akron PS (Akron)
147. Union Pleasant ES (Hamburg)
148. Maple Avenue School (Niagara Falls)
149. Wolcott Street School (LeRoy)
150. Fredonia ES (Fredonia)
151. Fletcher ES (Tonawanda)
152. Arcade ES (Yorkshire-Pioneer)
153. Riverview ES (Tonawanda)
154. St. Joseph School (Buffalo)
155. Brocton ES (Brocton)
156. Scio Central School (Scio)
157. St. John the Baptist School (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
158. West Valley Central School (West Valley)
159. Franklinville ES (Franklinville)
160. Holy Family School (LeRoy)
161. John Kennedy School (Batavia)
162. Anna Merritt ES (Lockport)
163. Cuba ES (Cuba-Rushford)
164. Harold O. Brumsted ES (Holland)
165. Delevan ES (Yorkshire-Pioneer)
166. Kendall ES (Kendall)
167. Robert H. Jackson ES (Frewsburg)
168. Springville ES (Springville-Griffith Institute)
169. Forestville ES (Forestville)
170. Henry J. Kalfas Magnet School (Niagara Falls)
171. Theodore Roosevelt ES (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
172. Lincoln ES (Jamestown)
173. Oakfield-Alabama ES (Oakfield-Alabama)
174. Panama ES (Panama)
175. Cattaraugus Campus ES (Cattaraugus-Little Valley)
176. Royalton-Hartland ES (Royalton-Hartland)
177. Holley ES (Holley)
178. P.S. 67 Discovery School (Buffalo)
179. G.N. Chapman ES (Randolph)
180. Woodrow Wilson ES (Cheektowaga-Sloan)
181. Elba ES (Elba)
182. St. Mary's of the Lake School (Frontier)
183. Robert Morris School (Batavia)
184. Pine Valley ES (Pine Valley)
185. Colonial Village ES (Niagara-Wheatfield)
186. St. Paul's School (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
187. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School (West Seneca)
188. Elmwood Village CS (Buffalo)
189. D.B. Bunce ES (Pavilion)
190. CS for Applied Technologies (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
191. Drake School (North Tonawanda)
192. Seventy-Ninth Street School (Niagara Falls)
193. Boardmanville ES (Olean)
194. Belfast School (Belfast)
195. St. Joseph School (Gowanda)
196. Letchworth ES (Letchworth)
197. Cassadaga ES (Cassadaga Valley)
198. Harvey C. Fenner ES (Falconer)
199. Buffalo United CS (Buffalo)
200. Perry ES (Perry)
201. Rovillus R. Rogers ES (Jamestown)
202. Hinsdale Central School (Hinsdale)
203. Spruce School (North Tonawanda)
204. St. Andrew's Country Day School (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
205. Ivers J. Norton ES (Olean)
206. Hyde Park School (Niagara Falls)
207. St. Margaret School (Buffalo)
208. Westfield ES (Westfield)
209. Carlyle C. Ring ES (Jamestown)
210. Rushford ES (Cuba-Rushford)
211. King Center CS (Buffalo)
212. Sinclairville ES (Cassadaga Valley)
213. Silver Creek ES (Silver Creek)
214. Our Lady of Victory School (Lackawanna)
215. Warsaw ES (Warsaw)
216. Christian Academy of Western New York (Lockport)
217. P.S. 81 (Buffalo)
218. Prince of Peace School (Niagara Falls)
219. South Buffalo CS (Buffalo)
220. Ambrose Catholic Academy (Buffalo)
221. Oak Orchard School (Medina)
222. Jackson School (Batavia)
223. Tuscarora ES (Niagara-Wheatfield)
224. Whitesville Central School (Whitesville)
225. Gowanda ES (Gowanda)
226. Wellsville ES (Wellsville)
227. Washington West ES (Olean)
228. P.S. 72 Lorraine ES (Buffalo)
229. Roy Kelley ES (Lockport)
230. Westminster Community CS (Buffalo)
231. Niagara Street School (Niagara Falls)
232. Catholic Academy of West Buffalo (Buffalo)
233. Mary Queen of Angels School (Cheektowaga)
234. Ripley Central School (Ripley)
235. Milton J. Fletcher ES (Jamestown)
236. East View ES (Olean)
237. Harry F. Abate ES (Niagara Falls)
238. Community CS (Buffalo)
239. School 7 (Dunkirk)
240. Bolivar-Richburg ES (Bolivar-Richburg)
241. Samuel G. Love ES (Jamestown)
242. Genesee Valley ES (Genesee Valley)
243. Limestone ES (Allegany-Limestone)
244. School 5 (Dunkirk)
245. Friendship Central School (Friendship)
246. Trinity Catholic Academy (Buffalo)
247. Clinton V. Bush ES (Jamestown)
248. Trinity Christian School (West Seneca)
249. Little Valley Campus ES (Cattaraugus-Little Valley)
250. Global Concepts CS (Lackawanna)
251. Canaseraga School (Canaseraga)
252. School 3 (Dunkirk)
253. Holmes ES (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
254. P.S. 32 Bennett Park Montessori School (Buffalo)
255. P.S. 69 Houghton Academy (Buffalo)
256. Martin Road ES (Lackawanna)
257. P.S. 27 Hillery Park ES (Buffalo)
258. P.S. 93 Southside ES (Buffalo)
259. P.S. 3 D'Youville-Porter Campus (Buffalo)
260. School 4 (Dunkirk)
261. P.S. 65 Roosevelt Early Childhood Center (Buffalo)
262. Niagara CS (Niagara-Wheatfield)
263. P.S. 19 Native American Magnet (Buffalo)
264. P.S. 54 George Blackman School of Excellence (Buffalo)
265. Our Lady of Black Rock (Buffalo)
266. Enterprise CS (Buffalo)
267. P.S. 43 Lovejoy Discovery (Buffalo)
268. P.S. 31 Harriet Ross Tubman (Buffalo)
269. Pinnacle CS (Buffalo)
270. P.S. 18 Antonia Pantoja School of Excellence (Buffalo)
271. P.S. 89 Lydia Wright School of Excellence (Buffalo)
272. P.S. 30 Frank Sedita Academy (Buffalo)
273. P.S. 53 Community School (Buffalo)
274. P.S. 91 Build Academy (Buffalo)
275. P.S. 45 International School (Buffalo)
276. P.S. 33 Bilingual Center (Buffalo)
277. P.S. 94 West Hertel Academy (Buffalo)
278. P.S. 95 Waterfront ES (Buffalo)
279. P.S. 78 Montessori (Buffalo)
280. P.S. 80 Highgate Heights ES (Buffalo)
281. P.S. 96 Campus West (Buffalo)
282. P.S. 39 Martin Luther King Multicultural Institute (Buffalo)
283. P.S. 61 Early Childhood Center (Buffalo)
284. P.S. 99 Stanley Makowski Early Childhood Center (Buffalo)
285. P.S. 11 Poplar Citizenship Academy (Buffalo)
286. P.S. 82 Early Childhood Center (Buffalo)
287. P.S. 6 Buffalo ES of Technology (Buffalo)
288. P.S. 37 Futures Academy (Buffalo)
289. P.S. 17 Early Childhood Center (Buffalo)
290. P.S. 74 Hamlin Park ES (Buffalo)
291. P.S. 76 Herman Badillo Bilingual Academy (Buffalo)
292. P.S. 59 Charles Drew Science Magnet (Buffalo)

ABBREVIATIONS: CS-Charter School, EMS-Elementary-Middle School,
ES-Elementary School, HS-High School, IS-Intermediate School, JHS-Junior
High School, JSHS-Junior-Senior High School, MHS-Middle-High School,
MS-Middle School, PS-Primary School, SHS-Senior High School, VHS-Vocational
High School.