Contact: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Friday, May 7, 2010

For the 19th consecutive year, Fayette County Public Schools has earned the “What Parents Want” award, given to districts that make noteworthy efforts to meet families’ needs. 

The honor comes from SchoolMatch, an educational research and database service firm that specializes in rating schools.

FCPS was among 18 of 174 Kentucky districts to qualify. Nationwide, SchoolMatch found that only 16 percent of the country’s 15,571 public school districts (2,407) met these criteria in 2010: 

• Solid academics, competitive test scores and appropriate levels of rigor;
• Accreditation;
• National recognition for excellence;
• Competitive teacher salaries;
• Above-average instructional expenditures;
• Above-average expenditures for library/media services;
• Small class sizes.

SchoolMatch is a consulting and research company that collects and manages information about public and private K-12 school systems and schools. It compiles information from county assessors, county auditors, state taxing authorities, state departments of education and others.