Excellence in Education Awards Honor High-Performing Schools

Boise-Eliot, Jason Lee and Woodmere Elementary Schools Win 2008 Awards

In April, the Portland Schools Foundation announced the winners of this year’s Excellence in Education Awards.  At a ceremony at Jason Lee Elementary, with kindergartners singing and middle schoolers dancing, Portland Schools Foundation board member Beryl Morrison awarded three principals the award plus a $2,500 grant as part of a contribution from Washington Mutual.

Excellence in Education Awards are presented to public schools in Portland with a high percentage of students of color, second-language learners and children from low-income families that are making remarkable improvement in both reading and math.

This year’s recipients have unique achievements detailed below:

Boise-Eliot Elementary School has a strong focus on basic skills in reading and math, consistency in content and instructional techniques across the curriculum, monitoring students’ individual progress, and follow-up with appropriate support. Regular P.E., library, and music during the school day plus a vibrant after-school SUN school program also play an important role in students’ learning and attitude toward school. Boise-Eliot has a diverse student population that is 59 percent African American, 14 percent Hispanic, 21 percent White, 4 percent Asian and 2 percent Multiple Ethnicities. An estimated 80 percent of its students are in the free and reduced-price lunch program, and the school’s special needs students comprise about 18 percent of the student population.

Jason Lee Elementary School has greatly improved its test scores, for which its principal credits the school’s heavy emphasis on basic phonics and reading skills, combined with an interdisciplinary, theme-based, arts-infused curriculum. Reading instruction has become the cornerstone of the school day for first- through third-graders, with the first 90 minutes of every day devoted to direct reading instruction and other reading activities. A strong commitment to the arts and culture-based activities provides a balance that engages children’s attention and creativity, and incorporates different learning styles. Sixty-four percent of Lee’s students are minorities, and 70 percent are economically disadvantaged.

Woodmere Elementary School has a welcoming atmosphere that embraces the school’s extraordinary cultural diversity—more than 26 languages are represented within the school community, and more than one-third of the students are English-language learners. Staff support and celebrate learning wherever a child may be on the developmental and academic curve. Teachers collaborate in a continuing way to identify students who need special help and make sure they get it. The school’s instructional program is a blend of tightly structured, coordinated curriculum based on state and district standards. It is enhanced by a firm commitment to flexibility that allows teachers to be responsive to changes in the students’ developmental and learning needs.

“Despite many challenges, the students at these schools are making incredible strides,” Beryl Morrison, Portland Schools Foundation board member said. “They are supported by wonderful teachers and administrators, and communities that contribute in many ways.”

The Portland Schools Foundation, working with school district research experts, evaluated extensive data from 16 schools before selecting the winners. The Excellence in Education awards have been presented for the past six years as part of the Foundation’s commitment to helping schools improve student achievement and close the achievement gap.