The staff at Alderwood Middle School got a nice surprise this afternoon. Boeing awarded the school with the eighth annual John D. Warner Award for Excellence in Education during a staff meeting. The award comes with a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Boeing says it selected the school because of its excellent example of strong school leadership, engaging the entire school community to improve educational outcomes for children in need.

“All Snohomish County school districts were invited to nominate a middle school from their district and nominations were judged based on the needs of the student population, student achievement within the last five years, community or parent involvement and school leadership,” said Boeing’s Liz Warman.

Alderwood Middle School serves 855 students and has a free- and reduced-price meal rate of 50 percent.

“We are delighted that the staff, students, and parents of the Alderwood Middle School community have made such significant gains in student learning,” said Superintendent Nick Brossoit.