For immediate release . . . The Pike County School Corporation, located in Petersburg, Indiana, was ranked in this elite group out of 17,000 U.S. school systems nationwide. According to Offspring Magazine officials, an independent research firm from Columbus, Ohio that specializes in public school data, SchoolMatch , conducted the study using information from the 1998-99 school year. Two other Indiana school systems made the list - West Lafayette Schools of Lafayette, Indiana and the Monroe County Schools in Bloomington, Indiana. Coincidentally, both Monroe County and West Lafayette school corporations are located next to Big 10 universities Indiana and Purdue, respectively.
Pike County is the smallest of the Indiana schools cited, and is located in a rural, isolated area.
Greater attention to curriculum and best teaching practices has resulted in higher levels of student achievement, despite an unfavorable free-lunch rate. Expenditures per pupil in Pike County remain among the lowest in Indiana. The magazine is now on sale at area bookstores. This kind of recognition makes us very proud of our district and county. Like many of our staff who have worked in the PCSC over the past few years, publicity about our school system has not always been the best.