Six Schools Recognized as Academic Achievement Schools

OLYMPIA — November 22, 2011 — Six schools in Washington state have been recognized as Title I, Part A Academic Achievement Schools, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction announced today.

The recognized schools, which will each receive $10,000, per content area they are awarded for, are:

The awards are given to schools that have successfully met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in all cells for the past three years (2009, 2010, and 2011). The award honors those schools and improvement teams that have significantly raised student achievement in mathematics and/or reading through an identifiable strategy. The purpose of the program is to honor the work of successful Title I, Part A, school teams while providing model strategies to assist other schools.

“I’m very proud of these schools,” said Randy Dorn, State Superintendent of Public Instruction. “The achievements they have made are a shining example to the rest of the state that all kids can learn, even with challenging circumstances.”

The Title I, Part A, Academic Achievement Award may be used for:

• Professional development for improvement of the teachers’ knowledge base in an area of expertise, new area of expertise related to current position, or increased expertise in effective classroom practices;
• Team building and teacher planning opportunities for the purpose of furthering the work on developing school-reform strategies;
• Development of additional research-based instruction; or
• Development of additional strategies, curriculum, and training models.

The awards are given to schools that have exceptional student performance or that have demonstrated significant progress in closing the achievement gap. The purpose of the program is to honor the work of successful Title I, Part A school teams, while providing model strategies to assist other schools.

The award-winning schools were determined using the following criteria:

• School improvement facilitated by collaborative instructional team.
• School has defined process/strategies that were used to achieve improvement.
• School improvement can be supported with test data.
• School strategies/processes address the Nine Characteristics of High Performing Schools (pdf).
• School strategies have the potential for adoption by other schools.

About OSPI
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is the primary agency charged with overseeing K-12 education in Washington state. Led by State School Superintendent Randy Dorn, OSPI works with the state’s 295 school districts and nine Educational Service Districts to administer basic education programs and implement education reform on behalf of more than one million public school students.

OSPI does not discriminate and provides equal access to its programs and services for all persons without regard to race, color, gender, religion, creed, marital status, national origin, sexual preference/orientation, age, veteran’s status or the presence of any physical, sensory or mental disability.

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CONTACT:
Nathan Olson
OSPI Communications Manager
(360) 725-6015