The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) announced March 17 that five Sammamish schools were among 174 statewide honored with a Washington Achievement Award.

The awards are part of the Washington State Board of Education accountability program, adopted in 2009, which recognizes top performing schools in six categories, measured by test scores and graduation rates.

The awards list includes 14 schools in Lake Washington School District, more than any other district in the state. No schools in the Issaquah School District were selected to receive an award.

Five Sammamish schools were recognized for “Overall Excellence”: McAuliffe Elementary, Mead Elementary, Smith Elementary, Inglewood Junior High and Eastlake High School. Smith and Mead were also honored with awards for excellence in science.

“I am so incredibly proud of these schools and all the hard work of students, teachers and parents,” said Dr. Chip Kimball, superintendent. “These awards confirm what I know and see every day; our district has some of the best schools in the state, helping all kids achieve and excel.”

The honored schools will be officially recognized May 5.

Other categories include Language Arts, Math, Extended Graduation Rate and Gifted Education.

The other LWSD schools recognized for overall excellence include Audubon Elementary, Juanita Elementary, Mann Elementary, Redmond Elementary and Wilder Elementary. The honored LWSD elementary schools notably represent 20 percent of all elementary schools awarded for science and 15 percent of the state for overall excellence.

“We have an inquiry-based approach to science that engages kids,” said Dan Phelan, chief academic officer. “These awards are another indicator that this approach works.”

Two district schools will be honored for achievement in language arts: Wilder Elementary, which also garnered an overall achievement nod, and Discovery Community School.

Futures School will be honored for their extended graduation rate. This choice school, housed within Juanita High School, often works with students who have not achieved within the larger comprehensive high schools. Futures School encourages students to set lofty goals and provides a supportive environment allowing them to reach those goals.

The awards recognize schools based on outcomes tracked through the State Board of Education’s accountability system from 2007 to 2009. The outcomes are measured using four indicators:

1. Achievement of students who are not from low-income families;

2. Achievement of students who are from low-income families;

3. Achievement of all students when compared to “peers” (those with similar student characteristics in different categories)

4. Improvement in the achievement of all students from the previous year.