Einstein, Parkwood, HEE to receive Washington Achievement Award

Parkwood Elementary, Einstein Middle School and the Home Education Exchange (HEE) in Shoreline are among 186 schools statewide receiving Washington Achievement Awards for 2010.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education created the Washington Achievement Award to celebrate top-performing schools and to recognize achievement in multiple categories. This highly selective award is based on a school's performance according to the Washington Achievement Index, a comprehensive measurement of how schools in Washington are performing over time.

The Washington Achievement Award is given to elementary, middle, high and comprehensive schools in seven different categories: overall excellence, language arts, math, science, extended graduation rate (high and comprehensive schools only), improvement and closing achievement gaps.

Parkwood and Einstein are among schools in the state to be honored for Overall Excellence. The overall excellence award is for schools whose overall two-year average put them in the top five percent. Parkwood will also receive a State Achievement Award for Closing Achievement Gaps. Home Education Exchange will receive a special Improvement Award. The schools will be recognized as part of a statewide celebration on April 27.

Parkwood has shown significant improvement in student achievement on state assessments during the past two years, including increases of more than 10 percent in third, fourth and fifth graders meeting the state standard in math. The school received the state's Title I Improvement Award in 2007 and 2010. Laura Ploudre has been principal at Parkwood since 2001.

Einstein has worked to increase its student achievement by setting clear and high expectations for all student learning and by providing a series of increasingly more intensive interventions when students struggle to meet learning targets. Einstein has focused on providing a variety of academic and behavioral interventions during the school day and uses multiple forms of student data to ensure that students receive the support they need. In addition to providing interventions when students are not learning, Einstein has been developing a college-going culture by taking all eighth graders to visit a college campus, by highlighting different post-high school options twice a month, and by having the students complete exploratory activities. As a result of these efforts, Einstein went from 64.9 percent of eighth graders meeting standard in math in 2009 to 74.6 in 2010, and from 63.9 percent to 76.5 in science. Stephanie Clark is in her third year as Einstein principal.

Home Education Exchange, located at the North City building, is dedicated to offering quality educational support to home-schooled students and their families. The program recognizes the parent as the child's primary teacher and provides resources to help families. This help includes offering access to resources materials, technology, field trips, classes, workshops and activities. Ron Jones is program manager of HEE.

The awards are part of the State Board's accountability program, adopted in 2009. Under the program, all schools are indexed according to outcomes and indicators in 2009 and 2010. The outcomes include student performance in statewide reading, writing, math and science tests.

For more information visit the Washington Achievement Awards website,