Neah Bay Elementary receives national award

NEAH BAY — Neah Bay Elementary School has received yet another academic honor.

The school received a letter announcing its selection as a National Distinguished Title I school and announced the achievement Thursday.

“This is the result of years of dedication and hard work on the part of the staff, the community, parents and especially our kids. They work hard to master their subjects, and they want to be successful,” said Alice Murner, who has been principal of the school since 2001.

130 students

Neah Bay, a small elementary school with 130 students on the Makah reservation, has received a host of awards after turning around scores that were near the bottom of state testing less than a decade ago.

Neah Bay Elementary was named a 2013 School of Distinction and received two 2012 Washington Achievement Awards.

It made the Center for Educational Effectiveness’ list of the top 5 percent of schools for student progress in the past five years.

The school also was named a 2013 Golden Apple Award Pathways to Excellence winner by KCTS-9, a Public Broadcasting Service affiliate in Seattle.

The award is based on scores from exams administered by the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

District and school officials will attend the National Title I Conference on Feb. 2-5 in San Diego.

The district received a digital camera as part of the award, and teachers and students have been taking pictures of school activities that will be displayed as part of the awards ceremony.

The National Title I Conference opens each year with a grand parade featuring representatives from each of the National Distinguished Schools, followed by a series of workshops to help schools continue to improve.

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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsula”dailynews.com.

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