MOSES LAKE - Sage Point Elementary students and teachers were recognized for improving the school's test scores with a "Closing the Achievement Gap" award from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

"We doubled our science scores," Principal Noreen Thomas said. Reading scores improved for fourth and fifth graders; math scores improved for third, fourth and fifth graders, and writing scores improved for about 15 percent for fourth graders.

It's the first award in the three-year-old school's award case, Thomas said, and she told her students that having won the first one, they're going to start earning more.

Thomas said student improvement came as the result of increased efforts by teachers and students and more effective techniques.

"I think we've gotten better at what we do," she said. Teachers, administrators and aides make an effort to work together. "It's whole school teamwork."

Classes start late on Mondays to give teachers time to work together, Thomas said, and she credited a daily program called "Wildcat Time" with helping students improve.

During Wildcat Time all students in each grade level are divided by their skill levels, and teachers are assigned to work with each group and target their weak and strong points.

Sage Point was one of 61 schools to receive the award, according to a list on the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction website.