• Home »
• Newsroom »
• News Releases »
• Year 2008

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced today the names of three middle schools designated as California's 2008 Schools To Watch - Taking Center Stage model schools.

 Each designated school was recognized for implementing replicable practices focused on academic excellence, responsiveness to the developmental needs of young adolescents, fair and equitable education for all students, and organizational processes and procedures that foster and sustain academic growth.

"I commend these three schools for demonstrating the leadership, innovation, and resolve required to overcome the achievement gap and ensure all students become engaged and successful learners," said O'Connell. “Middle grades educators throughout our state and nation can look to these model middle schools for knowledge, ideas, and inspiration when preparing their students to be productive citizens and future leaders."

 The schools are:

• Torch Middle School, Bassett Unified School District, Los Angeles County. The principal is Joe Medina, who can be reached at 626-931-2700. The school population is 94 percent Latino and 86 percent of students are eligible for the free/reduced lunch program. The overall Academic Performance Index (API) score for the school has risen 75 points in the last three years and is now at 733 (higher than the median of 724 for California middle schools). API scores for the school's socioeconomically disadvantaged subgroup have risen 77 points in the past three years.
• Alta Sierra Intermediate School, Clovis Unified School District, Fresno County. The principal is Devin Blizzard, who can be reached at 559-327-3500. More than 16 percent of the students are Latino. Latino API scores have risen 55 points in the past three years. The achievement gap between Latino and white students is closing from 72 points in 2004 to 57 points in 2007.
• Kastner Intermediate School, Clovis Unified School District, Fresno County. The principal is Rick Watson, who can be reached at 559-327-2500. Nearly one third of the school population is Latino. Latino API scores have risen 58 points in the past three years. The achievement gap between Latino and white students is closing from 154 points in 2004 to 99 points in 2007.

For the first time in the history of California's Schools To Watch program, two of the honored schools are from the same district. 

The three schools, which join 18 other schools selected in previous cycles since 2003, will be formally recognized at the annual California League of Middle Schools annual conference in Sacramento, February 29 - March 2, 2008. There, they will be given their first opportunity to showcase their accomplishments and network with other middle grades educators from around the state.

Minimum eligibility criteria for the Schools To Watch - Taking Center Stage designation included: A 2006 Base API of at least 724 (the state's median API in 2006 for middle schools) or achievement of all API growth targets for the previous three years; and not state monitored or in Program Improvement.

In addition, applicant schools conducted an extensive self-study, available on the California League of Middle Schools Web site [http://clms.net/stw/2007/STW-TCS07-08Self-StudyRatingRubric.pdf] (Outside Source; PDF; 257KB; 9pp.) and completed a narrative application. Each site selected for a visitation was reviewed by a team of middle grades experts during December 2007.

The process also gauged each applicant's understanding and implementation of 12 recommendations for becoming innovative, high-impact schools; these recommendations form the basis for the soon-to-be-released Taking Center Stage-Act II: Ensuring Success and Closing the Achievement Gap for All of California's Middle Grades Students, an innovative Web-based project built by and for middle grades educators. Selected schools also exemplify the criteria for a high-performing middle school as defined by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. California is one of 16 states working with the National Forum to designate and promote model middle schools throughout the country. Additional information may be obtained at the The National Forum Web site [http://www.mgforum.org/] (Outside Source).

California's Schools To Watch - Taking Center Stage program is a collaborative endeavor of 10 organizations that form the California Middle Grades Alliance: the California League of Middle Schools, the Middle Grades Council of the Association of California School Administrators, the California School Boards Association, the California Teachers Association, the California Middle Grades Partnership Network, the Secondary Subcommittee of the Curriculum and Instruction Steering Committee of the California County Superintendents Education Services Association, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), the California Schools To Watch Program, and the California Department of Education. The California League of Middle Schools is the lead organization for the state's Schools To Watch program.

A virtual tour of all previously designated model middle schools is available at the California League of Middle Schools Web site [http://www.clms.net] (Outside Source).