Kentucky Schools To Watch

"Turning the Vision into Action"

The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform has identified criteria to describe high-performing school in the middle grades.  Reflective of the the Forum's Vision Statement, such schools are academically excellent, responsive to the developmental challenges of young adolescents, and socially equitable, with high expectations for all students.

In the first national search for schools that were meeting the criteria, the Forum received almost 40 applications.  Among those that applied, nine were visited and four selected as "Schools To Watch".

"Schools to Watch"

The first four school to receive national recognition were:

• Barren County Middle School in rural Kentucky

• Jefferson Middle School in Champaign, Illinois

• Freeport Intermediate School in Freeport, Texas

• Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Chicago, Illinois

The criteria for Schools to Watch are:

• academic excellence

• developmental responsiveness

• social equity

• organizational structure and procedures

Detailed descriptions of the criteria available here

Schools seeking this designation will be submitting an application by October 17, 2003.  A Kentucky Schools to Watch review team will visit selected applicants during the winter months.

Formal recognition will be given to the selected school(s) during March 2004.

Selected school(s) will be featured and honored at the Fall 2004 KMSA conference.

The Center for Middle School Academic Achievement (CMSAA) is the lead organization of the Kentucky Schools to Watch program, and is partnered with the Kentucky Department of Education, the Kentucky Middle School Association, the Collaborative for Teaching and Learning, and the Kentucky Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform.