Washington School Recognition Program Honors 406 Schools for Outstanding Achievement

The Washington State Board of Education is proud to announce that 406 public schools in 154 school districts across Washington are being honored by the Washington School Recognition Program for their work in closing opportunity gaps and supporting students' growth and academic achievement during the 2023-24 school year. 

Each year, this program highlights schools that demonstrate exceptional progress in key areas of student success. This year, 16% of schools in Washington received this distinction. All state public and charter schools can be recognized. As part of being honored, each school will receive a banner to display in their buildings. 

“Achieving this honor is no small feat,” said Bill Kallappa, chair of the State Board of Education. “It takes a team of dedicated educators and administrators working together to ensure that their students have the knowledge they need to be successful. And it takes great students coming to school every day ready to learn.” 

The program is jointly operated by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), State Board of Education (SBE), and Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee (EOGOAC). 

There are three routes for schools to be honored by the Washington School Recognition Program. A school can earn recognition for multiple categories each year. Recognition is based on school performance data from the Washington School Improvement Framework. 

Of the schools who have received recognition this year, 50 schools are being recognized three years in a row. 

• Closing Gaps: Recognized for significant progress in areas needing improvement, such as assessment scores, English learner progress, dual credit completion, or graduation rates. 
• Growth: Schools with at least one student group making some of the state’s largest annual gains in performance measures like attendance, assessments, dual credit completion, or graduation rates. 
• Achievement: These schools have some of the state's highest performance in at least two key areas, including attendance, dual credit completion, assessment scores in English language arts or math, graduation rates, or ninth-grade credit attainment, and are above average across all reportable student groups on the 2024 Washington School Improvement Framework.

The full lists of all schools earning recognition can be found on SBE’s website.