Contact: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, April 28, 2011

For the 20^th consecutive year, Fayette County Public Schools has earned the “What Parents Want” award, given since 1992 to districts that make noteworthy efforts to meet families’ needs. 

The honor comes from SchoolMatch, an educational research and database service company that specializes in ratings schools. FCPS was among 17 of 174 Kentucky districts to qualify in 2011.

Nationwide, SchoolMatch found that 16 percent of the country’s 15,571 public school districts (2,437) met these criteria:

• 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 collects and manages information about public and private K-12 school systems and schools, compiling information from county assessors and auditors, state taxing authorities, state departments of education and other sources. Corporations and consumers use SchoolMatch when moving across town, upgrading residences, relocating to a new area, negotiating child custody issues and for general information about schools.