Superintendent's Update

December 2004

Dear Friends,

I am very pleased to share that the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District has been selected for the 2004 “What Parents Want” Award.

The nation’s largest school selection consulting firm, SchoolMatch of Columbus, OH, presents the “What Parents Want” Awards based on matching schools with needs parents express in more than 95,000 questionnaires. The parents most often look for school systems that are:

• competitive in academic test scores and academically solid, but not so rigorous as to intimidate their children

• recognized for excellence by a national foundation or by the U.S. Department of Education

• competitive in teacher salaries

• above average in instructional expenditures on a national percentile basis

• known for small class size

Only 16 percent of the nation’s 15,573 public school districts have been recognized for meeting the needs of families choosing schools, and Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified is among this elite group.

Corporations and consumers use SchoolMatch when relocating and for general information about schools. All honored school systems are highlighted on the web site http://schoolmatch.com, which is being accessed by more than 250,000 families each month.

We are proud to have been selected and continue to look for ways to enhance your child’s school experience!

Best wishes for an enjoyable holiday season.

Sincerely,

Michael Watenpaugh, Superintendent

Email: Michael Watenpaugh

superintendent@crpusd.sonoma.edu