OTHELLO — Wahitis Elementary School in Othello was recently named a state-recognized school for its efforts in closing gaps and demonstrating improvement in student groups.

According to the Othello School District (OSD), over the past year the Washington Board of Education, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Education Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee have been working to revise Washington’s school recognition system. The three agencies are recognizing schools that have “demonstrated performance along a continuum of improvement, closing opportunity gaps in the Washington School Improvement Framework (WSIF) measures.”

The groups look at academic indicators, which include proficiency, graduation rate and English language progress, and school quality and student success measures, which include dual credit participation, regular attendance and “ninth-grade on-track rates.”

The district touts the Wahitis distinction as a positive step for the OSD.

“This is an exciting time for the Othello School District!” stated the OSD in a Facebook post.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at rbyrd@columbiabasinherald.com.