Pioneer Elementary School was selected as one of only 98 schools statewide to receive the State Superintendent’s Learning Improvement Award.

The award celebrates the top 5 percent of elementary, middle, high and alternative schools that exceeded this year’s state average performance on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) exam in reading and mathematics, as well as demonstrated outstanding improvement over time in both subjects.

“Absolutely, we do things differently here,” said Principal Debra Gary. “We’re extremely focused on reading and our next focus is math. We have to remain true to those subjects in order to make those gains.”

Pioneer was honored at a recent awards ceremony at Seattle’s Garfield High School.

“It’s a big honor,” Gary added. “I believe what we do here is very different from other schools. … We take and assess every kid individually.”

Despite challenging demographics, Pioneer continued to make performance gains in WASL reading and math scores over a six-year stretch. About 35 percent of Pioneer’s students are ELL (English language learners).

In recognition for its efforts, the school received a banner and trophy.

Gary said the award could not have been possible without the hard work of her staff, students, parents and support groups. Among those are Citizens in Schools and the local chapter of Kiwanis.