High Achievement for Central Washington Teachers and Schools Weekly Column by Congressman Doc Hastings

High Achievement for Central Washington Teachers and Schools Weekly Column by Congressman Doc Hastings

One of the most important ways to ensure a bright future for Central Washington is to prepare our children to be community leaders, small business owners, and highly trained employees. This requires significant investment from parents, teachers, schools and the entire community in order to achieve success. As someone who raised three children here, I know what outstanding teachers and administrators work in our local schools.

Recently that investment and dedication has paid off. Central Washington teachers and schools have been recognized for outstanding work, winning national awards and accolades, including top national rankings for area schools and near-record participation in national board certifications from our local teachers.

Each year a national magazine issues a list of the top high schools across the country. This year, nine Central Washington schools made the list, including; Liberty Bell Junior Senior High, Quincy High School, Chelan High School, Cascade High School, Manson High School, Brewster High School, Pateros High School, Soap Lake Middle School and High School, and Royal High School.

To earn this ranking, schools must demonstrate academic excellence throughout the entire student body, with a strong focus on preparing students for a college education. This is the largest number of local schools recognized since the rankings started, and a positive sign that our schools are showing improvement in all aspects of their teaching, administration and curriculum.

The second recognition goes to the 215 teachers living in Central Washington who became Nationally Board Certified this year. This voluntary certification is designed to challenge teachers to continue lifelong learning and bring new skills back to the classroom. These new skills are in addition to state teaching guidelines, and use advanced teaching knowledge and practices to hone their classroom talents through a rigorous, performance-based assessment that typically takes one to three years to complete.

To make this accomplishment even greater, these 215 teachers are the second most of any congressional district in the entire country.

When you put highly trained and certified teachers in some of the best schools in the country, this combination means that children throughout Central Washington will reap the benefits. In fact, the 2009 and 2008 Washington State Teachers of the Year came from Pasco and the Cle Elum-Roslyn School District. With a clear commitment to academic achievement from school administrators to the teachers, the results show that this focus is paying off in the classroom and in the rankings.

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