State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Congratulates
High-Performing Middle Schools Named 2023 Schools to Watch
SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced that 77 high-performing California middle grades schools have been recognized for 2023 by the California Schools to Watch program. There are 36 new California Schools to Watch this year. An additional 41 schools reapplied to the program, demonstrated their sustained progress, and have been redesignated as 2023 California Schools to Watch. Altogether, there are now 186 California Schools to Watch.
“Congratulations to these schools for building systems that support all students from all backgrounds and who bring a wealth of individual and family assets,” Thurmond said. “These middle grades students attend programs that help them believe in themselves, discover their interests, and work toward their academic, life, and career goals. These middle schools are exceptional role models of how educational innovation and an enthusiastic school community can keep students engaged and learning through a critical stage in their K–12 journey.”
These high-performing model schools demonstrate academic excellence, social equity, and responsiveness to the needs of young adolescents. For example, Alta Sierra Intermediate School has a targeted intervention program for students called Support for Success that includes supports such as reteaching; study hall; lunch labs with teachers; a homework center; pull-out tutoring from PE class; and Program Reach, designed to support victims of bullying, harassment, or racially motivated behavior to teach coping skills, conflict resolution, and empathy. And La Paz Intermediate School’s culture and climate is enhanced by a fully developed Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program implemented schoolwide as well as a year-round Where Everybody Belongs (WEB) program that connects with students during lunch activities, nighttime social events, and classroom lessons.
The California Schools to Watch program is sponsored by the California Department of Education, the California League of Educators, and the California Middle Grades Alliance in association with The National Forum. To earn this designation, schools must complete an extensive application and host a site visit by middle grades experts. In order to retain the designation, each school is reevaluated every three years.
The 2023 schools will be recognized at the California Schools to Watch Celebration in Monterey on March 9, 2023. For more information about the program, please visit the California League of Educators California Schools to Watch web page.
