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Parenting mag puts Ashland in top 100 By Wendy Siporen A new parenting magazine has told the nation what the Ashland School District has known for years: that it�s one of the top 100 districts in the nation. The fall edition of Offspring magazine � a quarterly parenting magazine launched last spring by SmartMoney magazine � analyzed the 15,892 public schools nationwide using data on academic performance and expenditures per student. Ashland shares the honor with districts in Corvallis, Eugene, the California cities of Carmel, Palo Alto and Beverly Hills, as well as the more humble communities of Hitchcock, S.D., and House, N.M. "Knowing our teachers, students and administrators ... it doesn�t surprise me," said school board member Alan DeBoer. "Ashland always ranks at the top of whatever it does." According to the article, Ashland ranks in the 94th percentile nationwide for academics based on students� college-prep test scores and the number of National Merit Scholars. While Ashland ranks high academically, the district is rated in the 52nd percentile for the amount of academic spending per student. Ashland ranks in the 76th percentile for living costs, meaning over three-fourths of districts nationwide are in communities with lower incomes and property values. The Northwood, N.D., school district has an even more impressive ranking. It ranks just 15th nationwide for spending per student but ranks 99th for academic performance. DeBoer said Ashland is able to excel within the limits of Oregon school funding because of the commitment of staff and the community. "Everybody in the district should be proud," he said. "It reflects their work and attitudes and ethics." The study, conducted by Ohio-based research firm SchoolMatch, divides the districts into seven geographic areas and into three subgroups based on community living costs (median income and median property values). Within each category, the school systems with the highest academic performance made the list. All of the 100 school districts listed ranked in the top 12 percent for academic performance, regardless of the living costs. Ashland High School Principal Julie Reynolds says the district was notified of the ranking in June and set up a telephone interview appointment, but the magazine never called. "Offspring, the magazine of smart parenting" is in its third edition and is published as a joint venture between Dow Jones & Co. and The Hearst Corp. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA