Lakeridge Elementary among schools recognized for gains in student achievement

Published 3:45 pm Monday, October 14, 2013

Lakeridge Elementary School’s impressive student achievement gains in math and reading were recognized this month by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Lakeridge was among 27 Washington schools that have received three-year federal School Improvement Grants (SIG) from between $50,000 and $2 million every year for three years.

The funding has been well spent at Lakeridge to improve student learning, including groundbreaking work with the University of Washington’s College of Education to improve teaching methods and provide rigorous, research-based, job embedded professional development for teachers. The work has helped students become more enthusiastic to learn and engage in reading and mathematics, according to a press release from the district.

Lakeridge teachers and staff have worked hard in the past two years to improve their approach to teaching, resulting in impressive gains in student scores in math and reading, including:

• Fifth-grade reading, two-year gain: 25.2 percent;

• Third-grade math, two-year gain: 33.5 percent;

• Fourth-grade math, two-year gain: 22.7 percent; and

• Fifth-grade math, two-year gain: 35.2 percent.

“I am very proud of the commitment and focus that Lakeridge staff have demonstrated on behalf of students,” said Renton Schools Superintendent Dr. Merri Rieger. “The growth over the past two years is evidence of the hard work of staff, students and parents. the relentless determination to help each child succeed is to be commended. We are so very proud of the Lakeridge staff.”

The overall goal of the SIG program is to understand which practices produce the most significant improvements in student achievement, specifically those practices that reflect the diversity of the schools.