Three Orange County middle schools have been re-designated as 2021 “California Schools to Watch.”
Bell Intermediate School in the Garden Grove Unified School District, Cerro Villa Middle School in Orange Unified and Ladera Vista Junior High School of the Arts in the Fullerton School District are among 31 high-performing campuses spotlighted by the state for demonstrating “academic excellence, social equity and responsiveness to the needs of young adolescents.”
While all three local schools were first recognized through the California Schools to Watch program in 2018, they were allowed to reapply for the honor after showing sustained progress. In fact, only one campus, Standard Middle School in Kern County, is new to the list after going through the application process for the first time.
“Congratulations to these schools for building systems that support all students in believing in themselves, discovering their individual interests, and working toward their academic, life and career goals,” State Superintendent Tony Thurmond said. “These schools are outstanding examples of how educational innovation and a dedicated school community can keep students engaged and learning through a critical stage in their K–12 journey.”
The California Schools to Watch program is sponsored by the California Department of Education, California League of Schools and the California Middle Grades Alliance, in association with the National Forum.
To earn the designation, schools must complete an extensive application and host a site visit by middle grades experts. To retain the designation, each school is re-evaluated every three years.
The 2021 California Schools to Watch schools are:
- Bell Intermediate School, Garden Grove Unified School District, Orange County
- Castaic Middle School, Castaic Union Elementary School District, Los Angeles County
- Cerro Villa Middle School, Orange Unified School District, Orange County
- Clark Intermediate School, Clovis Unified School District, Fresno County
- De Anza Magnet School, El Centro Elementary School District, Santa Clara County
- De Anza Middle School, Ontario Montclair School District, San Bernardino County
- Fedde International Studies Academy, ABC Unified School District, Los Angeles County
- Fruitvale Junior High School, Fruitvale Elementary School District, Kern County
- Golden Valley Middle School, San Bernardino City Unified School District, San Bernardino County
- Granite Ridge Intermediate School, Clovis Unified School District, Fresno County
- Griffiths Middle School, Downey Unified School District, Los Angeles County
- Hollydale School, Paramount Unified School District, Los Angeles County
- Katherine L. Albiani Middle School, Elk Grove Unified School District, Sacramento County
- Kings Canyon Middle School, Fresno Unified School District, Fresno County
- Ladera Vista Junior High School of the Arts, Fullerton School District, Orange County
- Lakeside Middle School, Little Lake City School District, Los Angeles County
- Liberty Middle School, Lemoore Union Elementary School District, Kings County
- Live Oak Middle School, Live Oak Unified School District, Sutter County
- Los Osos Middle School, San Luis Coastal Unified School District, San Luis Obispo County
- Luther Burbank Middle School, Burbank Unified School District, Los Angeles County
- Mary R. Stauffer Middle School, Downey Unified School District, Los Angeles County
- Mountain View Middle School, Moreno Valley Unified School District, Riverside County
- Paramount Park Middle School, Paramount Unified School District, Los Angeles County
- San Marcos Middle School, San Marcos Unified School District, San Diego County
- Sequoia Middle School, Fontana Unified School District, San Bernardino County
- Standard Middle School, Standard School District, Kern County (newly designated)
- Tincher Preparatory School, Long Beach Unified School District, Los Angeles County
- Turlock Junior High School, Turlock School District, Stanislaus County
- Union Middle School, Union Elementary School District, Santa Clara County
- Vina Danks Middle School, Ontario Montclair Sch. Dist., San Bernardino County
- Woodrow Wilson Jr. High School, El Centro Elementary School District, Santa Clara County