ANACORTES, WA – A new state school recognition system is honoring 30 schools across the Northwest Educational Service District 189 (NWESD) region. The State Board of Education (SBE), the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), and the Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee (EOGOAC) have collaborated to revise the Washington State school recognition system to more equitably recognize schools. The new recognition system replaces the former Washington Achievement Awards.

The 30 schools recognized in the NWESD region include:

Bellingham SD Lowell Elementary
Blaine SD Blaine Elementary
Edmonds SD Challenge Elementary
Edmonds SD Edmonds Career Access Program
Edmonds SD Sherwood Elementary
Everett SD Cedar Wood Elementary
Everett SD Garfield Elementary
Everett SD Madison Elementary
Everett SD Mill Creek Elementary
Everett SD North Middle School
Ferndale SD Cascadia Elementary
Lake Stevens SD Homelink
Marysville SD Grove Elementary
Monroe SD Chain Lake Elementary
Mount Baker SD Acme Elementary
Mount Vernon SD La Venture Middle School
Oak Harbor SD Hillcrest Elementary
Orcas Island SD Orcas Island High School
San Juan Island SD Friday Harbor High School
Snohomish SD Centennial Middle School
Snohomish SD Dutch Hill Elementary
Snohomish SD Machias Elementary
Snohomish SD Riverview Elementary
South Whidbey SD Langley Middle School
South Whidbey SD South Whidbey Academy
Stanwood-Camano SD Cedarhome Elementary
Stanwood-Camano SD Elger Bay Elementary
Stanwood-Camano SD Port Susan Middl School
Sultan SD Gold Bar Elementary
Sultan SD Sultan Elementary

The SBE, EOGOAC, and OSPI are phasing in the revisions to the recognition system over the course of three years.  In a press release issued by SBE, they stated, “The now outdated Washington Achievement Awards were based on measures, some of which are no longer computed, that tended to be highly correlated to the school Free and Reduced Price Lunch (FRL) rate. The SBE, OSPI, and EOGOAC all agreed that a change was needed.”

This spring, in the first phase of the new state school recognition system, 216 schools are being recognized which have demonstrated exemplary performance or who have made significant progress closing opportunity and achievement gaps in the Washington School Improvement Framework (WSIF) measures.

The first recognition event under the new system will be on June 6. This event will take place concurrently in both Olympia and Spokane.

Recognition Criteria

Measures for the first year include both growth and achievement on academic indicators (proficiency, growth, graduation rate, English language progress) as well as school quality and student success measures (dual credit participation, regular attendance, and ninth grade on track rates).

To see the list of schools or to learn more about the new school recognition system, visit http://sbe.wa.gov/our-work/accountability/2017-2018-state-recognized-schools.


About the NWESD
Located in Anacortes, the NWESD is one of nine Educational Service Districts in Washington State. The NWESD serves 35 school districts in Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, Island, and San Juan counties, providing leadership and cooperative services to the educational communities in the northwest region.

Contact
Jessica Haag, NWESD Communications Specialist | 360-299-4714