A pair of Kent Elementary schools have received awards from the state for closing the achievement gap at their schools.
The principals at Neely O’Brien Elementary and Panther Lake Elementary were notified in June that they were among the 106 schools statewide chosen to receive the state’s 2009 Title I, Part A Improvement Award, based on student performance data on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning exams.
“These schools … have made significant gains in academic achievement,” said Assistant Superintendent of Learning and School Improvement Merri Rieger.
Title I schools are schools in which more than 40 percent of the student population qualify for free or reduced lunch. Due to those reduced income levels in the school population, additional assistance and resources are sent from the state.
To be eligible for the award, which comes from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, schools must receive Title I funds, achieve a state standard called Adequate Yearly Progress for three years, and show improvement overall, especially in subcategories Asian, African American, Hispanic, Native American, English Language Learners and special education.
“The school has done something to dramatically improve student achievement,” Rieger said. “There’s clear results that are showing.”
Rieger said both schools have put a ficus on increasing teachers’ “tool bag” in identifying and differentiating instruction to focus better on individual student needs.
“Both schools are really looking, student by student, at ‘What can we do?’” she said.
Rieger said the awards are a recognition of the hard work put in by the whole team at the schools, adding that students may not yet reach the highest level of achievement but “their efforts are paying off.”
Along with the recognition, the OSPI awards come with a check for $2,335 each to be used to continue to increase academic success.
Rieger said the money goes directly to the schools, which will determine where the additional funding will go. In the past, Rieger said the additional funds have gone to professional development or additional staff support.
“It goes right back into helping the staff and students succeed,” she said.
In 2008, three Kent schools also received the Title I award: Martin Sortun Elementary, Glenridge Elementary and the Kent Mountain View Academy.
Rieger said the district was proud of the two elementary schools and staff efforts.
“They are very intentional about what they are doing to help the students achieve academically,” she said.
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