Kinley lauds model middle ‘Schools to Watch'

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 2007.

They are:
• Canyon Middle School, Castro Valley Unified School District, Alameda County; Principal Mark Croghan
• Edna Hill Middle School, Brentwood Union School District, Contra Costa County; Principal Eric Prater
• Frank M. Wright Intermediate School, Imperial Unified School District, Imperial County; Principal Charles Bush
• Oliver Wendell Homes International Middle School, Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles County; Principal Valerie Turner

Each school met this year’s minimum eligibility for the Schools to Watch designation, which included having a 2005 Base Academic Performance Index of at least 714 (the state’s median API in 2005 for middle schools) or having achieved all API growth targets for the previous three years. In addition, applicant schools could not be state monitored or hold Program Improvement status.

CSBA President Kathy Kinley congratulated the schools during the annual California League of Middle Schools Conference in San Diego in March. She saluted the dedicated middle school teachers and administrators at the event for providing support and guidance to their students and declared the math and language arts curriculum in grades 6, 7 and 8 to be “crucial to preparing students to pass the high school exit exam.”

“Middle grade students also need science, social science, physical education and the arts to prepare them for high school and life. Yet there is not always time in the school day for all these subjects,” Kinley added. “CSBA has convened a task force on how to provide the gift of time to our students. We are hoping to make better use of existing after-school programs and summers to provide students with enhanced learning opportunities before they enter high school.”

She added that CSBA is adding a new category to its annual Golden Bell Awards program that will focus on the middle grades.

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, the 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. 

Related link:
Take a virtual tour of California model middle schools @ www.clms.net
National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform @ www.mgforum.org