Forbes Magazine: Greater Madison Area Schools Lead Nation In Excellence
Area Second Only To Washington, D.C.
Updated: 3:00 pm CST December 18, 2007
MADISON, Wis. -- Dane County is the second best place in the nation at educating children, according to Forbes magazine.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportOnly, the Washington, D.C.-Arlington, Va., area ranked higher than Dane County, according to the magazine.School officials across the area call the ranking an honor.Madison officials said that they think innovative programs like Project Lead The Way helped put Madison at the top of the list. Project Lead The Way is a district-wide initiative helping prepare high school students for college."It's a dedication by the administration and staff, teachers just trying to get to know the students and doing what's best for the students," said Madison East High School teacher Greg Granberg.The engineering-based program is just one example of the district's willingness to bring college-level learning to his high school students. That effort appears to be paying off nationally, WISC-TV reported."It reinforces that what we're trying to do as a district and as an area is working," said Granberg. "And it's getting recognized on a national level, not just a local or state level.""This is not a community that accepts anything but the best and so that bar is always high," said Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Art Rainwater.Rainwater also credits the ranking to teacher development programs."We spend an awful amount of time and an awful amount of effort working with our teachers in terms of how they deliver instruction to individual children," said Rainwater.He said the school district will continue to improve techniques, focusing on the needs of every student."The national attention always makes you feel good but in the end, that's really not what's important, what's really important is that our children are learning and that more of our children are learning," said Rainwater.For Granberg, it's just nice to know the work in the classroom is paying off.According to Forbes, the Dane County area scores an A+ on class size, spending per student and the popularity of the city's public library. Greater Madison also gets an A for being close to a college town and for offering college options and a B+ on private school options.The Milwaukee, Waukesha, West Allis area came in at No. 17 on the Forbes top 20 list.Related Info:
VIDEO: Watch The ReportOnly, the Washington, D.C.-Arlington, Va., area ranked higher than Dane County, according to the magazine.School officials across the area call the ranking an honor.Madison officials said that they think innovative programs like Project Lead The Way helped put Madison at the top of the list. Project Lead The Way is a district-wide initiative helping prepare high school students for college."It's a dedication by the administration and staff, teachers just trying to get to know the students and doing what's best for the students," said Madison East High School teacher Greg Granberg.The engineering-based program is just one example of the district's willingness to bring college-level learning to his high school students. That effort appears to be paying off nationally, WISC-TV reported."It reinforces that what we're trying to do as a district and as an area is working," said Granberg. "And it's getting recognized on a national level, not just a local or state level.""This is not a community that accepts anything but the best and so that bar is always high," said Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Art Rainwater.Rainwater also credits the ranking to teacher development programs."We spend an awful amount of time and an awful amount of effort working with our teachers in terms of how they deliver instruction to individual children," said Rainwater.He said the school district will continue to improve techniques, focusing on the needs of every student."The national attention always makes you feel good but in the end, that's really not what's important, what's really important is that our children are learning and that more of our children are learning," said Rainwater.For Granberg, it's just nice to know the work in the classroom is paying off.According to Forbes, the Dane County area scores an A+ on class size, spending per student and the popularity of the city's public library. Greater Madison also gets an A for being close to a college town and for offering college options and a B+ on private school options.The Milwaukee, Waukesha, West Allis area came in at No. 17 on the Forbes top 20 list.Related Info: Copyright 2007 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
