Schools of Distinction honored
State Superintendent presents Learning Improvement Awards to 98 schools

OLYMPIA — October 22, 2008 - Outstanding academic growth led to a special honor for 98 schools today; all received the 2008 State Superintendent’s Learning Improvement Award and the designation of “School of Distinction.”

Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson presented the awards before an audience of more than 400 principals, superintendents, teachers and parents at Garfield High School in Seattle this morning. Garfield was among the schools receiving the School of Distinction honor for the second straight year.

Simultaneous local award ceremonies were hosted at educational service districts and school districts for winning school leaders and staff unable to travel to the main ceremony.

“Students and teachers and schools continue to make incredible progress,” Bergeson said. “This award celebrates the real gains these schools have made, gains that aren’t recognized by the federal No Child Left Behind law or its ‘Adequate Yearly Progress’ calculations.”

To be considered for the award, each school had to exceed the state average performance in 4th-, 7th- or 10th-grade reading and math, as measured by the spring 2008 Washington Assessment of Student Learning.

Schools that met the average performance requirements were then evaluated for WASL performance during the last six years. Results in grades four, seven and 10 were evaluated because those are the only grade levels with six years of trend data. The top 5 percent of elementary, middle and high schools, as well as alternative schools, were given awards. This year’s honorees included 53 elementary schools, 21 middle schools, 20 high schools and seven alternative schools – out of nearly 2,500 schools in the state. Three schools were awarded for achievement at more than one grade level.

A total of 89 schools won last year, the first year the award was given. Twenty-one of last year’s winners also won awards this year.

Independent research and analysis to establish criteria for the awards and to identify the schools with the greatest improvement was conducted by Greg Lobdell of the Center for Educational Effectiveness in Redmond.

School leaders from each of the winning schools were presented with a plaque and a large banner reading “School of Distinction – 2008 State Superintendent’s Learning Improvement Award.”

The 98 schools share common strategies for increasing student success:

• Teachers are continuously studying and establishing best practices
• The staff is committed to building strong ‘school families’ that include all students
• The staff is committed to the success of every single student
• The community is an active partner with the school