As you can hear Madison Middle School principal Henterson Carlisle say in that clip, pep rallies happen all the time for athletics, so why not for academics? His students gathered in the Madison gym on Thursday afternoon to cheer two major awards the school has won this year. We’ve reported one of them, the fourth consecutive School of Distinction award, given for academic improvement. That award is statewide; the other one is national – as announced last month, Madison won the Career Awareness and Exploration Award from the National Consortium for State Guidance Leadership. First time in 15 years a school here has won that award, said Mike Hubert from the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who high-fived the Madison staffers involved in providing those services, led by Lauren Divina:

(added) Here’s the official school photo of Hubert with, from left, Linda Mundinger, Lauren Divina, and Claudia Whitaker-Greenway:

As for the School of Distinction Award, Carlisle said it’s a reason for everybody involved with the school to stand tall:

Madison was one of two West Seattle schools to receive that award this year, along with Alki Elementary.