Fifty-five Washington schools and 12 school districts will receive cash awards from the federal government for academic improvement and narrowing the achievement gap between ethnic- minority and white students.

Each school will receive $10,000. District awards were based on the number of schools that helped them qualify.

The awards were given to schools and districts that are part of the federal Title I program, aimed at raising the achievement of low-income students. The money came from the U.S. Department of Education, but Washington's Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction designed the criteria and picked the schools and districts.

To be eligible for the awards, schools and districts had to meet the test-score goals outlined in the federal No Child Left Behind Act for at least two of the past three years, along with a number of other criteria. The money must be used to improve instruction in reading, writing and math.

In the Puget Sound area, three districts received awards: Snohomish ($19,000), Sultan ($7,600) and Tahoma ($7,600).

Area schools are:

Bellevue School District: Tillicum Middle.

Everett School District: Hawthorne, Lowell and Madison elementaries.

Federal Way School District: Mark Twain Elementary.

Highline School District: Evergreen and Highline high schools and Sunnydale, Southern Heights and Hilltop elementaries.

Kent School District: Neely O'Brien Elementary.

Monroe School District: Frank Wagner Elementary.

Mukilteo School District: Explorer Middle and Discovery Elementary.

Northshore School District: Woodin Elementary.

Seattle School District: Leschi and Graham Hill elementaries.

Tacoma School District: McCarver and Fern Hill elementaries.

Tukwila School District: Foster High.

Linda Shaw: 206-464-2359 or lshaw@seattletimes.com