The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the State Board of Education (SBE) is honoring 186 schools — four of which are from Redmond — across the state with the 2010 Washington Achievement Awards.

Schools were recognized as top performers in seven categories: Overall excellence, language arts, math, science, extended graduation rate, improvement and closing achievement gaps. This year was the first schools were recognized specifically for improvement and closing achievement gaps. Some schools are honored in more than one of these categories.

Lake Washington School District (LWSD) schools Horace Mann Elementary, Norman Rockwell Elementary, Rosa Parks Elementary and Redmond High schools will be recognized for overall excellence. Horace Mann received this award in 2009 as well. Rosa Parks and International Community School, a choice school in Kirkland with students from the entire district, will be honored for achievement in science. Only seven schools in the state were honored in this category.

A total of 12 schools in LWSD were recognized. All award-winning schools will be honored in a ceremony on April 27 at Lincoln High School in Tacoma.

“The hard work of students, teachers and parents shows in this year’s Washington Achievement Awards,” said superintendent Chip Kimball. “For the second straight year, these awards have confirmed what I know and see every day. Our district has great schools, helping all kids achieve and excel.”

Schools are selected for awards based on their statewide assessment data for the three previous years. This data is analyzed using the Achievement Index and methodology approved by both OSPI and the SBE. For more information, visit www.k12.wa.us/EducationAwards/WashingtonAchievement.