Wahluke student athletes show their smarts

MATTAWA - Students at Wahluke High School have received academic recognition from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) and the South Central Athletic Association's (SCAC) Principals Association.

Student-athletes on the school's varsity and junior varsity volleyball, girls cross country, varsity football, and football cheer squads were all recognized by the WIAA for Distinguished Scholastic Awards. To qualify, each had to have a cumulative team grade point average between 3.00 and 3.49.

This award program is sponsored every sports season by the Dairy Farmers of Washington and Les Schwab Tires.

Wahluke students were recognized by the league's principal's association for having the highest rate of gain on the 2011-2012 High School Proficiency Exams (HSPE).

Sophomores at WHS demonstrated a 10.8% improvement in the percentage of students who passed the Reading HSPE, and Wahluke students were second in the rate of gain in mathematics.

Each year the league's principals present a traveling plaque to the schools that show the greatest growth from one year to the next in the areas of reading, writing, math, and science.

This is the second time since the program was started three years ago that WHS has received recognition from the principals.