Three Northshore School District elementary schools earned Washington Achievement Awards for 2009 from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

East Ridge earned awards for overall excellence, language arts, math and science; Sunrise earned awards for overall excellence and science; and, Wellington earned an award for overall excellence.

The awards are given to schools that affect student learning and are part of the State Board’s accountability program.

Schools can be recognized for performance in six categories: overall excellence, language arts, math, science, extended graduation rate and gifted education

“To be recognized as three of 70 elementary schools in the state to receive this award is a tremendous honor,” said Superintendent Larry Francois. “It is the hard work and dedication of our school teams and larger school communities that contribute to such high levels of student success.

“I congratulate East Ridge, Sunrise and Wellington for a job well done and offer my sincere thanks for their continued pursuit of excellence.”

All schools were indexed, as part of the State Board program, according to outcomes and indicators from 2007 to 2009.

The outcomes are student performance in statewide reading, writing, math and science tests, and the school’s extended graduation rate. The outcomes are measured using four indicators: achievement of students who are not from low-income families; achievement of students from low-income families; achievement of all students when compared to “peers”; and improvement in achievement of all the students from the previous year.

Future awards will be given to schools closing the achievement gap. The accountability program was adopted by the passage of Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 6696 in the 2009 legislative session.