Only 55 elementary schools and 104 total schools in Washington earned the honor.
Sunny Hills Elementary has been named a “Great School” for being among the top 5 percent of highest improving Washington schools in reading and mathematics during the last five school years.
“We are honored to be recognized with this award, and we are very proud of our students and our school,” said Sunny Hills Principal Sarah White. “This is the result of a school community with staff and parents that are completely focused on the success of every child.”
Only 55 elementary schools and 104 total schools in Washington earned the honor.
The Great Schools were recognized for their sustained improvement at a Schools of Distinction luncheon on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Great Schools and Exemplary Leaders Institute at the Renton campus of City University. Sunny Hills will specifically accept its award during a Parent Teacher Association meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 7.
To be considered for the award, a school had to exceed the state average performance in reading and math as measured by the spring 2009 Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).
Schools that met the average performance requirements were then evaluated for WASL performance during the last five years. Results in grades four, seven and 10 were evaluated because those are the only grade levels with enough years of trend data. The top 5 percent of elementary, middle and high schools earned the “Great School” distinction.
In 2007 and 2008, this recognition was known as the "State Superintendent's Schools of Distinction-Learning Improvement Award." For 2009, sponsorship for this school-level, learning improvement award, now known as the "Great Schools Award" is through the Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE) and the Washington Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa International (PDK-WA).
“Recognition of the dedication and perseverance it takes to sustain improvement over multiple years is an essential component of supporting our educational system,” said CEE Executive Director Sue Mills.
Sunny Hills Elementary’s mission is to maximize student potential through program excellence and strong community involvement. Staff train in differentiated instruction and use best practices to reach all levels of learners. The school has an annual Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP) with school-wide learning goals and strategies based on a large portfolio of student achievement data.
In the area of literacy, Sunny Hills provides programs such as the Young Authors Celebration week, during which each student writes and illustrates a professionally published book. The Benchmark Enrichment Learning (BEL) program provides extra reading support for all qualifying students.
In the area of math, Sunny Hills has focused on a unified implementation of the Everyday Math curriculum, which has included team collaboration on math assessments, small-group strategies, and targeted assistance for students with unique needs, such as English-language learners. The school has established a Math BEL program to provide struggling students with extra support.
The resulting student achievement in these two subject areas have been impressive. Last year, Sunny Hills fourth-graders averaged 86 in reading and 90 in math on the Stanford 10 Achievement Test. (A score of 90 means that 90 out of every 100 students in the national sample group scored lower than the test taker.)
On the 2009 spring WASL in fourth grade, 96.4 percent of students met standard in reading and 89.1 percent of students met standard in math at Sunny Hills. At the state level in fourth grade, 73.5 percent of students met standard in reading and 52.3 percent of students met standard in math. Even more impressively, 72.7 percent of Sunny Hills fourth-graders “far exceeded” the math standard—the highest designation possible.