Pacific and Sylvester middle schools earned honorable mentions in the recent 2007 State Superintendent Learning Improvement Awards.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson praised both schools for remarkable gains in mathematics and reading on last year's Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).

"You are doing amazing things in your school," said Bergeson in letters to Pacific and Sylvester staffs. "You're helping to revolutionize the way schools help kids learn, and confirming the courageous conviction that all kids can learn.

"Everyone should recognize that you are changing students' lives and, in doing so, literally changing the world."

The Learning Improvement Award was created this year to celebrate gains in student achievement.

To earn an honorable mention, Pacific and Sylvester met high standards on the math and reading sections of the WASL this year, and have moved at least half of their students up at least one level in math and reading over the past six years.

The WASL is scored by levels. Levels 1 and 2 are below standard. Level 3 is "meets standard" and level 4 is "exceeds standard."

Mount Rainier High School was honored this fall as a "School of Distinction" in the 2007 Learning Improvement Awards.

Schools of Distinction are in the top 5 percent in the state for improving math and reading WASL scores over the past six years.