PROSPERITY – Mid-Carolina Middle School is one of 167 middle-grades schools in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia to be been named “Schools to Watch.”
This is part of a recognition and improvement program developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform.
Mid-Carolina Middle School was selected by state leaders for its academic excellence, its responsiveness to the needs and interests of young adolescents, and its commitment to helping all students achieve at high levels. In addition, this school has strong leadership, teachers who work together to improve curriculum and instruction, and a commitment to assessment and accountability to bring about continuous improvement.
“These schools demonstrate that high-performing middle grades schools have a clear focus on academic growth and achievement. They also recognize the importance of meeting the needs of all of their students and ensuring that each and every child has access to a rigorous, high-quality education. We are proud to have these schools serve as models from which others can learn,” said Michelle Hayward, chair of the National Forum’s Schools to Watch Fidelity Committee.
Selection is based on a written application that required schools to show how they met criteria developed by the Forum. Schools that appeared to meet the criteria were visited by state teams — they observed classrooms, interviewed administrators, teachers, students and parents, and looked at achievement data, suspension rates, quality of lessons and student work. Schools are recognized for a three-year period; and at the end of three years, schools must repeat the process in order to be re-designated.
Mid-Carolina Middle School is one of 119 schools of the 167 recognized having maintained or increased their levels of excellence and are being redesignated. The schools vary in size from several hundred to several thousand students and represent urban, suburban, and rural communities.
“We are pleased that our Schools to Watch program has shown that schools can meet high academic expectations while preserving a commitment to healthy development and equity for all students,” said Ericka Uskali, National Forum executive director. “These Schools to Watch are indeed special; they make education so exciting that students and teachers don’t want to miss a day. These schools have proven that it is possible to overcome barriers to achieving excellence, and any middle-grades school in any state can truly learn from their examples.”
Launched in 1999, Schools to Watch began as a national program to identify middle-grades schools across the country that were meeting or exceeding specialized criteria developed by the Forum. In 2002, the Forum began working with states to replicate the Schools to Watch program as a way to introduce the Forum’s criteria for high-performance and identify middle grades schools that meet or exceed that criteria. Different education organizations have taken the lead in each state, but all have received training and support from the Forum to implement their Schools to Watch programs. All together, 17 states are currently involved in the program and the addition of these schools raises the total number of active Schools to Watch to 495 nationwide and one internationally.
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