Four Kent schools were named Washington State \u201cSchools of Distinction\u201d Oct. 22 by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.<\/p>\n
Principals from Glenridge Elementary, Martin Sortun Elementary, Meridian Elementary and the Kent Mountain View Academy were each presented with a crystal award and a large banner to be displayed at the schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents and teachers and schools continue to make incredible progress,\u201d State Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson said in a press release. \u201cThis award celebrates the real gains these schools have made, gains that aren\u2019t recognized by the federal No Child Left Behind law or its \u2018Adequate Yearly Progress\u2019 calculations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The four Kent schools were among 98 from around the state to receive the honor for dramatic improvements in student reading and mathematics over the past several years.<\/p>\n
This is the second year in a row Martin Sortun was named a School of Distinction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis award recognizes the hard work by teachers, support staff and administrators to ensure that students achieve higher standards,\u201d Superintendent Barbara Grohe said in a press release. \u201cI am very proud of these educators and their excellent work with children. Working together, these staff members help our students be successfully prepared for their future.\u201d<\/p>\n
To be considered for the award a school had to exceed the state average in the fourth-, seventh- or 10th-grade reading and math, as measured by the spring 2008 Washington Assessment of Student Learning.<\/p>\n
Schools that met the performance standard were then evaluated for WASL performance over the past six years. The top 5 percent of schools were given the award.<\/p>\n
Statewide this year, 53 elementary schools, 21 middle schools, 20 high schools and seven alternative schools received the honor. There are more than 2,500 schools in the state.<\/p>\n
According to OSPI, 72.3 percent of fourth-graders passed the WASL reading exam while 53.4 percent passed math.<\/p>\n
At Glenridge, 83 percent of fourth-graders passed reading while 79.6 passed math. At Martin Sortun, the numbers were 80 percent and 68.6 percent while at Meridian 84.9 passed reading and 74 percent passed math.<\/p>\n
Meridian Principal Stan Jaskot said the award was a \u201cnice recognition of all the hard work\u201d and the result of a \u201ccollaborative effort,\u201d though he said his fourth-grade teachers \u201cled the charge.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is just intentional, focused work everyday,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just never lose sight of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Glenridge Principal Scott Abernathy said the award validates all of the effort put in by the staff and more than anything is a reflection on their students doing well.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u201dAll of our work does make a difference with our students,\u201d he said, calling the award \u201cquite and honor\u201d and a \u201cmotivator.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking at the teachers\u2019 faces as we received the award – it means so much to be recognized for their hard work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
At the Kent Mountain View Academy, students in the seventh grade outpaced the state average on the tests. At the academy, 75 percent of students passed reading while 67.9 percent passed math. Statewide, the passing rate for reading was 62.8 percent while the rate for math was 50.3 percent.<\/p>\n
Mountain View Academy Principal Debbie Dempsey said the award means \u201ceverything\u201d to her school.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt underscores all the effort from the teachers, students and parents,\u201d Dempsey said, adding that she was \u201cso happy for the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt validates all their work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Brian Beckley can be reached at 253-437-6012 or bbeckley@kentreporter.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Four Kent schools were named Washington State \u201cSchools of Distinction\u201d Oct. 22 by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
\nPrincipals from Glenridge Elementary, Martin Sortun Elementary, Meridian Elementary and the Kent Mountain View Academy were each presented with a crystal award and a large banner to be displayed at the schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":223,"featured_media":23130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-23129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23129"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/223"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23129"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=23129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}