Lake Forest Park, Ridgecrest named Reward schools for student achievement

Ridgecrest Elementary
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

Lake Forest Park Elementary School and Ridgecrest Elementary in Shoreline have earned a “Reward” designation from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for high student progress.

Reward schools fall into one of two groups: highest performing and/or high progress. Highest performing schools, including Lake Forest Park, have met their Annual Measurable Objectives for the “all students” category, as well as for all 11 subgroups of students. Aimee Miner is the Lake Forest Park principal.

High-progress schools, including Ridgecrest, are among the top 10 percent of schools as judged by both their performance and their improvement on state assessments over three years. Reward schools cannot have significant gaps in performance among subgroups. Cinco Delgado is principal at Ridgecrest.

Lake Forest Park Elementary
Photo courtesy Shoreline Schools

Lake Forest Park was also recently honored as a national Title I, Part A Distinguished School.

Schools were identified using three-year averages (2009-10 through 2011-12) of reading and math scores from the statewide tests and/or graduation rates. A total of 75 schools were identified as Reward schools for 2012-13.

Washington state was granted a waiver from some of the requirements of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)—also known as No Child Left Behind. As part of the waiver, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is required to annually identify schools as “Priority schools,” “Focus schools” and “Reward schools.” 

OSPI uses a revised accountability system and index that measures a student’s proficiency in multiple content areas over time and other student growth data. Before the waiver, only reading and math test scores and graduation rates were measured. According to OSPI, the waiver gives the state more time to improve student performance among certain groups, such as English Language Learners, minorities, special education students and those who receive free or reduced-priced meals.