EDUCATION AWARD BESTOWED ON 28 SCHOOL DISTRICTS NATIONWIDE

ARLINGTON, VA - February 19, 2005 - Sodexho USA and American Association of School Administrators (AASA) today announce the 2005 national and state Civic Star Award winners for excellence in school district and community partnerships to enrich student achievement and academics.

“School districts have an increasingly difficult time reaching their goals when outside forces limit the potential boundaries for our children,” said Rich Williams, senior vice president for Sodexho USA. “However, through the Civic Star program, we can now acknowledge those community groups and school districts that work together to greatly improve the quality of life for their children. We are pleased to be able to recognize these efforts and encourage others to consider similar programs for their communities.”

This year's National Civic Star Award winner is Wayne County Public Schools in Goldsboro, N.C., for its collaborative efforts to improve health care for adolescents in the rural county of Eastern North Carolina. The awards ceremony took place during AASA's 137th National Conference on Education at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. Wayne County Public Schools will receive $10,000, ($5,000 to the school district scholarship fund and $5,000 earmarked to further promote further partnerships) for its efforts.

The winning program, “Wayne Initiative for Student Health” began in 1996 in conjunction with the Wayne Memorial Hospital, Goldsboro Pediatrics, Wayne County Departments of Health, Social Services and Mental Health and Wayne County Board of Commissioners, and has resulted in a five percent improvement in student attendance, a 75 percent reduction in teenage pregnancies and a dramatic reduction in emergency room visits by adolescents.

AASA Executive Director Paul Houston said the WISH initiative demonstrates that “the success of a community is intricately linked to the success of its local schools. We commend the school district for identifying unmet health care needs of its students--and reaching out to the larger community to seek solutions. We hope that this project shines the spotlight on the importance of schools forging community partnerships. Great things happen for our school children when community leaders who are committed to seeking solutions collaborate.”

Sodexho USA and AASA also identified 27 state winners, each of which received recognition awards for their innovative work. All winning submissions are profiled in a 32-page supplement to the March edition of The School Administrator.

The 2005 state winners are (in alphabetical order by state):

East Valley Institute of Technology
Mesa, Arizona

Fort Smith Public Schools
Fort Smith, Arkansas

Dixon Unified School District
Dixon, California

East Haven School District
East Haven, Connecticut

Manatee County School District
Bradenton, Florida

White County School System
Cleveland, Georgia

East Maine School District 63
Des Plaines, Illinois

Mooresville Consolidated School District
Mooresville, Indiana

Sabetha-Westmore Unified School District 441
Sabetha, Kansas

Boone County Board of Education
Florence, Kentucky

Montgomery County Public Schools
Rockville, Maryland

Genesee Intermediate School District
Flint, Michigan

St. Paul Independent School District 625
St. Paul, Minnesota

Springfield School District R12
Springfield, Missouri

Petal School District
Petal, Mississippi

Missoula County Public Schools
Missoula County, Montana

Lawrence Township School District
Lawrenceville, New Jersey

Santa Fe Public School District
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Tonawanda City School District
Tonawanda, NY

Parma City School District
Parma, Ohio

McMinnville School District 40
McMinnville, Oregon

Bensalem Township School District
Bensalem, Pennsylvania

Rock Hill School District 3
Rock Hill, South Carolina

Plano Independent School District
Plano, Texas

Franklin Central Supervisory Union
St. Albans, Vermont

Bridgeport School District 75
Bridgeport, Washington

Pulaski Community School District
Pulaski, Wisconsin

Sodexho USA (www.sodexhoUSA.com) is the leading provider of food and facilities management in the United States, with $6 billion in annual revenue and 110,000+ employees. Sodexho USA offers innovative outsourcing solutions in food service, custodial, grounds keeping, plant operations and maintenance, asset management, and laundry services to more than 6,000 corporations, health care, long term care and retirement centers, schools, college campuses, military and remote sites in North America. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD, Sodexho USA proudly serves as the official food service provider for the US Marine Corps.

AASA, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for over 13,000 educational leaders across America and in many other countries. AASA's mission is to support and develop effective school system leaders who are dedicated to the highest quality public education for all children. AASA's major focus is standing up for public education.