Brownsville Elementary School, Olympic High School and Klahowya Secondary School received a 2012 Washington Achievement Award for Closing Achievement Gaps.

The schools were selected because their minority students (based on race and ethnicity) have performed as well or better on statewide assessments than their majority groups over the last two years.

Esquire Hills Elementary School received a Special Recognition Award after being recognized as a high performing school in the area of science (based on two-year averages).

Washington Achievement Awards, now in their fourth year, are sponsored by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education. They were created to celebrate the state’s top performing schools and to recognize achievement in multiple categories.

Awards are based on each school’s performance according to the Washington Achievement Index, a comprehensive measurement of how schools in Washington are performing over time.

“These awards are a formal recognition of the hard work of our students, teachers and support staff that I see every day in our district,” said Superintendent Greg Lynch in a press release. “I am so proud to see them recognized in this way. They deserve it.”

This year’s schools were honored at an award ceremony on April 30 at Kentwood High School in Covington.