For Immediate Release
July 12, 2006

For More Information Contact:
Susan Hale, Communications
404-763-6830
hales1@fultonschools.org

Fulton wins “What Parents Want Award”
for 15th straight year

SchoolMatch, a national educational consulting and research firm, has again named the Fulton County School System in its annual “What Parents Want” awards program. This is the 15th consecutive year that the system has received the award.

Only 16 percent of the nation’s 15,573 public school systems were awarded the 2006 award, which was determined based on criteria derived from the results of more than 97,000 SchoolMatch parent surveys. More than seven million parents accessed SchoolMatch services through real estate firms and national corporations. The organization helps corporate employee families find schools that match the needs of their children.

In the surveys, parents identified several criteria as significant factors in school choice, all of which are found in Fulton County schools:

• Competitive test scores
• Academically solid and challenging programs
• National recognition for academic excellence
• Competitive teacher salaries
• Above average expenditures on instruction and library/media services
• Small class sizes

SchoolMatch developed the “What Parents Want” awards program 15 years ago to recognize school systems that meet the needs of their parents and to provide benchmarks for others focusing on goals for improvement.

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