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The
National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform
in collaboration with the
Virginia Middle School
Association
and the
Virginia Department of
Education...
invites your school to
demonstrate its progress in becoming a high-performing
middle level school by applying for this prestigious
recognition.
Schools that apply for Virginia Schools to Watch:
1. Must include grade seven plus at least one
other, and be fully accredited by the Virginia Department
of Education.
2. Schools must also be members of VMSA and
retain VMSA membership throughout their tenure with
Schools to Watch.
3. Follow directions for all aspects of the application. Both data and narrative materials are needed as well as signatures as stated.
4. Call Sandy Dutemple, Director Virginia Schools to Watch at 703-368-6465 or 703-795-0775 if you have any questions. If you prefer to email: MsDu@mac.com
Becoming a School To Watch is a process of several steps.
| 1. | Form a committee to begin the exploration. Have the committee discuss the points in the Virginia Deliberative Dozen to do an informal assessment of where the school is now. Determine if you are ready to move forward. |
| 2. | Access the National Schools to Watch website at www.schoolstowatch.org. Review the program and move to the Criteria Section. One document is a Self-Rating Rubric which assists in determining the status of the school as perceived by those who work there. The second is a Criteria Rating document. One or both of these should be completed by each staff member after some introduction to the STW criteria. |
| 3. | Download the Schools to Watch narrative application. The first part of the application includes the school's name and address along with directions on completing a narrative describing how your school is making its way toward becoming a high-performance middle grades school. This portion of the application also requires a school to include basic school characteristics, any special recognition the school has received and the DOE School Report Card data.(*See note above regarding SOL information.) |
| 4. | The second part of the application seeks data on the school's students and faculty and requests for references for the school. Data Information, primarily SOL, can be submitted after September 15 deadline. |
| 5. | Download the Schools to Watch Signature Page. The last part of the application provides a sheet for signatures of the principal, the superintendent and members of the team involved in production of the STW application. |
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Call Sandy Dutemple, Director Virginia Schools to Watch at 703-368-6465 or 703-795-0775 if you have any questions. If you prefer to email: MsDu@mac.com. We look forward to receiving your application!