Graham Hill Elementary

Schools honored by state
By JESSICA BLANCHARD
P-I REPORTER

Graham Hill Elementary Principal Chris Morningstar knows what works
for her students: Focused reading groups, after-school tutoring,
regular testing and community partnerships.

But the school’s success, she said, is largely due to the dedication
of the teachers and staff. “It’s a concerted effort,” she said. “We
just work hard.”

The Seward Park neighborhood school became one of the first in the
state to get a Learning Improvement Award and be recognized as
a “School of Distinction” by the state superintendent Wednesday.

To be selected, a school had to meet the 2007 targets on the
Washington Assessment of Student Learning in reading and math and be
able to show strong academic improvement over six years. This was the
first year the awards were presented, with 86 schools chosen from
among the nearly 2,500 in the state.

In a ceremony Wednesday at Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines,
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson handed out
crystal awards and blue “School of Distinction” banners to
representatives from the schools.

In Seattle, four other elementary schools also earned the
designation. They were Leschi, Loyal Heights, Olympic Hills and West
Woodland elementaries. Seattle’s Garfield High School was also
honored.

The awards show that Seattle Public Schools is moving in the right
direction academically, said Seattle Superintendent Maria Goodloe-
Johnson, who attended the morning ceremony with the principals from
the honored schools. “This says we have good work going on that we
can replicate,” she said.

Several other King County schools also received awards Wednesday.
They are: Crestwood and Martin Sortun elementaries in the Kent School
District; Horace Mann and Louisa May Alcott elementaries in the Lake
Washington School District; Bryn Mawr Elementary in the Renton School
District; Cherry Valley Elementary in the Riverview School District;
and Highland Terrace Elementary in the Shoreline School District.

At Graham Hill, teachers have focused on intensive reading
instruction for students, with small group-reading sessions, in-class
libraries, intensive reading comprehension and phonics practice and
lots of silent reading time. Students are regularly tested in math
and reading, and those identified as needing extra help can get
tutoring and homework help during or after school.

The strategies appear to be working: Over the past six years, scores
for Graham Hill’s fourth-graders rose dramatically on the reading,
writing and math portions of the WASL.

It also has a dedicated group of parents, who rose in protest in 2006
to kill a proposal to close Graham Hill as part of a plan to shutter
several schools.

Parent Christine King said the variety of programs the school offers,
including Montessori and Chinese-language immersion, have impressed
her. She wasn’t surprised to hear the school had been labeled
a “School of Distinction. ”

“Ever since I’ve been there, it seems like each year they have better
and better things to report,” she said. “I think it’s fantastic.”

ON THE WEB

For a complete list of schools to receive the awards.

P-I reporter Jessica Blanchard can be reached at 206-448-8322 or
jessicablanchard@ seattlepi. com.