Four Bainbridge schools earn accolades

Published 1:42 pm Thursday, May 14, 2015

Four schools in the Bainbridge Island School District made the state’s highest grade by winning the Washington Achievement Award for student progress.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction named Bainbridge High School and Ordway, Captain Charles Wilkes and Captain Johnston Blakely elementary schools among 401 top-performing schools statewide.

The state cited all four schools for overall excellence. Ordway, Wilkes and Blakely also stood out for math growth. BHS earned additional recognition for reading growth.

Each school received a banner and an acrylic award during an award ceremony April 28 at Spanaway Lake High School.

The state bases selection of Washington Achievement Award winners on the State Board of Education Revised Achievement Index and statewide assessment data for the three previous years. The award honors schools as top performers in six categories: overall excellence, high progress, reading growth, math growth, extended graduation rate and English language acquisition.

For Ordway Principal Melinda Reynvaan, the rewards are especially sweet. The school, labeled last fall “in need of improvement” under No Child Left Behind, was among only 19 public elementary schools in Washington state out of approximately 1,390 to win awards for both “Overall Excellence” and “Math Growth.”

The federal act requires 100 percent of students to meet standards in math and reading, including those with learning differences and English language learners. Earning two Washington Achievement Awards is proof of the school’s success.

“I am honored to be a part of the amazing learning community here at Ordway,” Reynvaan said.

“Our students worked hard last year to grow in targeted areas and they couldn’t have done it without a lot of passion, dedication and support from our educators and our community!” she said.