
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 13, 1995                   TAG: 9506130040
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-8   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                LENGTH: Medium

STUDY SAYS RELOCATING FAMILIES LIKE WHAT RADFORD'S SCHOOLS OFFER

Parents want what Radford City Schools have to offer, says School Match, an Ohio educational consulting and research firm. For the third year running, School Match has put Radford's schools among an elite group of schools across the nation that meet parents' criteria for public schools.

Radford's was one of only three school divisions in Western Virginia - and 18 statewide - to get the 1995 What Parents Want Award, given to only about 10 percent of the country's more than 15,600 school districts. Others honored include Lynchburg and Roanoke County.

School Match helps working parents moving to a new community to find schools that match their children's needs. It also helps corporations pick expansion sites.

Assistant Superintendent Randy Wright said the award puts Radford in good company among Virginia's most well-respected school systems such as Fairfax County.

"I feel like we're basically on track," he said recently.

William R. Mason Jr., a School Match vice president, said parents scouting out a new place to live look for schools that are:

Academically solid but not intimidating.

Accredited.

Competitive in academic tests scores.

Recognized for excellence.

Above average in teacher salaries.

Above average in library-media services.

Known for small class size.

He said the company, in business since 1983, culled the seven criteria from tens of thousands of surveys parents completed expressing their school preferences.

The data School Match uses to rank schools come each year from "auditable sources" - typically state and local governments, Mason said. "It's a totally objective database."

The company began matchmaking for corporate and individual clients in 1986. The company also provides access to its school system database for researchers. School systems also can take advantage of the massive School Match data bank to see how they stack up with similar districts across the country.

Initially, the What Parents Want Award was to be a one-shot deal, Mason said. But it turned out to be so popular with school administrators that the company has continued it.

"We have superintendents that will call and ask why they didn't make it this year but did last year," Mason said. After he reviews the criteria with them, "they usually answer their own question," he said.

Wright said he hopes Radford can repeat as a winner in 1996. "We're pleased that we were on [the list] and hope that we will continue to be."

While several large corporations offer School Match services as a benefit to their more mobile work force, they also are available to individuals. "That's our bread and butter," Mason said.

A regional survey costs just under $100, while an individual "report card" runs about half that, he said.

by CNB