RENTON — Twelve North Central Washington Schools were to be recognized Saturday for making the biggest strides in math and reading scores.

The 12 were named among the state’s 104 “Great Schools,” an honor reserved for the top 5 percent of most dramatically improved schools.

The award, formerly known as Schools of Distinction, is based on sustained improvement over five years in math and reading scores for grades four, seven and 10.

Former state Superintendent Terry Bergeson launched “Schools of Distinction” three years ago. The new state superintendent discontinued the award, so two organizations sponsored and renamed it this year: the Center for Educational Effectiveness, a private consulting company that originally designed the methodology; and a professional organization for teachers, Phi Delta Kappa International.

The 12 NCW schools chosen for the award span the spectrum — from the 83-student Coulee-Hartline High School to Cashmere’s Vale Elementary, which has 560 students. The poverty rates range from 40 to 85 percent.

When asked what led to the school’s turnaround, the answers seemed to follow the similar themes — teacher collaboration, teachers continually analyzing student progress and time during the school day to help struggling students.

All eyes will be on Icicle River Middle School of Leavenworth at the awards ceremony. It’s the only middle school in the state to earn the award all three years.

The school will be featured during the awards ceremony and school Principal Kenny Renner-Singer will be on a panel of education leaders talking about reform.

Five years ago, about half of the school’s seventh-graders passed the reading and math Washington State Assessment of Student Learning. Last year, about 81 percent passed reading and 72 percent passed math.

How did they do it? It comes down to teachers, Renner-Singer said. The school runs on a block schedule, which allows teachers of the same grade level to collaborate every day. The schedule also includes an enrichment period that gives teachers time to give extra help to students who need it.

“When teachers have time to get together and figure things out, they’re unstoppable,” he said. “We’re shrinking, our demographic is changing but our scores are pretty constant.”

The Cascade School District is the only district in the state that earned an award at every level — elementary, middle and high school.

Osborn and Cascade High also provide collaboration time and set up structures of support for struggling students, Renner-Singer said. The entire district has a high percentage of National Board Certified teachers.

Eastmont School District also had three schools named “Great Schools”: Grant Elementary, Robert E. Lee Elementary, and Rock Island Elementary for the second time.

Bob Busk, executive director of instruction, said significantly more kindergarteners are going into first grade reading at grade level, up to 100 percent in some classrooms, he said.

The district is also implementing Response to Intervention, which sets up a tiered system of support to help struggling learners catch up.

“Instead of waiting for kids to fail, we take a proactive look at the data, determine where kids need extra help and intervene early,” Busk said.

Methow Valley’s junior-senior high school, Liberty Bell, also earned the honor all three years, which Superintendent Mark Wenzel attributed to professional development.

“There’s a complete commitment on the part of the teaching staff to be learning themselves,” Wenzel said. Teachers have six paid days for professional development, which they spend attending conferences and studying the latest research.

When the district faced a $275,000 budget shortfall for this year, all of the staff gave up a week’s pay to save jobs and professional development, Wenzel said.

Wenzel also gave credit to a small-school culture that ensures every student has at least one mentor at school.

“Several community members have said that they see the improvement in schools and that’s rewarding,” Wenzel said. “At the same time, we realize there’s a long journey ahead. The standards are higher than ever before and the funding is tight as it’s ever been and we’re asking teachers to do more and more. So when we’re recognized, it’s important to celebrate.”

Rachel Schleif: 664-7139

schleif@wenatcheeworld.com