Hidden Valley Middle Recognized as a "School to Watch"
Roanoke County’s Hidden Valley Middle School joins 79 exemplary middle-grades schools in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia as “Schools to Watch” as part of an eighteen state recognition and school improvement program developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform. Having established partnerships with education leaders in these states, the Forum announced the names of schools in each state that meet its strict criteria.
Representatives from the Virginia Schools to Watch program will officially present the school award at a school wide assembly at 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 7. Members of the media are welcome to attend the assembly.
Each 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, each 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.
Dr. John Harrison, Chair of the National Forum’s Schools to Watch Committee, stated, “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.”
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 then visited by state teams who observed classrooms, interviewed administrators, teachers, 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 must repeat the process in order to be re-designated. Thirty-seven of the seventy-nine schools recognized have maintained or increased their levels of excellence and are being re-designated. 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 Dr. Deborah Kasak, 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-level school in any state can truly learn from their examples," Kasak said.
Launched in 1999, Schools to Watch began as a national program to identify middle-grades schools across the country that were meeting or exceeding 37 criteria developed by the Forum. The Forum web site (http://www.schoolstowatch.org) features online tours of schools, as well as detailed information about the selection criteria used in the recognition program.
The National Forum sponsors the Schools to Watch state program with the support of its members and the State Schools to Watch programs. Schools convene at the Schools to Watch Conference in the Washington, DC area June 24-27, 2009.
The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform is an alliance of 81 educators, researchers, national associations, and officers of professional organizations and foundations dedicated to improving education in the middle grades.