Alderwood and Kulshan Honored for Overall Excellence
Alderwood Elementary School and Kulshan Middle School are recipients of the 2011 Washington Achievement Award for Overall Excellence.
The Washington Achievement Awards, sponsored by the Washington State Board of Education and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, celebrate the state’s top-performing schools and recognize achievement in multiple categories. These highly selective awards are given to elementary, middle and high schools for achievement in eight different categories, including Overall Excellence. The award for Overall Excellence is based each school's Achievement Index, a state-wide measure of school performance that includes student achievement in reading, writing, mathematics and science. This index considers how schools are improving over time, how they compare to schools of similar demographics, and whether they are closing achievement gaps.
“We are thrilled and honored to receive this level of recognition,” says Alderwood Elementary principal Stephanie Korn. “Our staff, students and community have worked hard to put several improvements in place that have contributed to our success. We have researched and implemented best practices around professional learning communities at our school. We have developed a response to intervention system to insure all our students receive instruction that is targeted to needs, and we carefully monitor the progress of every student.” By continuing to work with parents and community organizations, Korn is excited to build on the collaborative foundation already in place so that “students can continue to thrive at Alderwood.”
Similarly, Jeanne Hayden, principal of Kulshan Middle School, credits Kulshan staff and the school community for the award. “Kulshan staff members recognize the importance of highly effective instruction and work very hard to meet the needs of a wide range of learners,” she says. “We continue to align our curriculum and assessment practices to state standards and develop interventions and extensions of core subjects to assure that students are both supported and challenged. At the same time, we’re always developing 'the whole child' and model and teach what it means to be respectful and productive citizens. Our collaborative efforts and focus on students undoubtedly serve as the foundation of our overall success.”
The schools will be honored at an Achievement Award event in April. Visit the OSPI Washington Achievement awards site to learn more about the awards, the criteria for selection, and the Achievement Index.
