‘Schools to Watch’: Rivera lauds model middle schools
Published: April 1, 2006
Four California middle schools that have distinguished themselves as models of academic excellence in their responsiveness to the needs of adolescents have been named as California’s Schools to Watch – Taking Center Stage model middle schools for 2006. They are:
- Gaspar De Portola Middle School, San Diego City Schools, San Diego, San Diego County, Principal Elizabeth Gillingham;
- R.H. Dana Middle School, Wiseburn School District, Hawthorne, Los Angeles County, Principal Matthew Wunder;
- McKinleyville Middle School, McKinleyville Union School District, McKinleyville, Humboldt County, Principal Douglas Oliveira; and
- Toby Johnson Middle School, Elk Grove Unified School District, Elk Grove, Sacramento County, Principal Patrick S. McDougall.
Each school met this year’s minimum eligibility for the Schools to Watch designation, which included either having a 2004 Base Academic Performance Index of at least 696 (the median score for California middle schools that year) or having met all API growth targets for the previous three years. Each also developed effective programs that other middle schools can use as models for serving diverse student populations, according to the California Department of Education’s announcement of the recognition.
CSBA President Luan B. Rivera congratulated the schools during the annual California League of Middle Schools Conference in San Jose in March, and she underscored the teamwork of teachers, administrators and trustees that made the schools’ achievements possible.
“In this age of high stakes tests and shrinking dollars, there is a tendency to narrow the curriculum to math and language arts. These folks have resisted that tendency in order to meet the needs of their students,” Rivera said. “School board members set the policy and direction for school districts, and they support the districts’ goals with the resources needed to achieve those goals. It is through their budgetary decisions that teachers are provided with the resources necessary to implement programs and meet students’ needs.”
CSBA is a partner in the California Middle Grades Alliance that collaborates on the Schools to Watch programs. Led by the California League of Middle Schools, the collaborative also includes the Association of California School Administrators, the California Middle Grades Partnership Networks, the Curriculum and Instruction Steering Committee of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, the California Teachers Association, California Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the California Department of Education. California is one of 15 states working with the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform to select model middle schools.
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