Galveston Independent School District issued the following announcement.
The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform and the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals as part of a national recognition program have designated Austin Middle School in Galveston, TX and Galveston ISD as a Texas School to Watch! Austin Middle School joins approximately 50 other campuses across Texas with this distinction and honor.
Austin Middle School will be recognized in Austin at the Making Middle School Matter Symposium hosted by TASSP on March 1-3, 2020. They will be recognized nationally with all of the other recognized STW schools across the country in Washington DC at the National Forum Schools to Watch Conference on June 24-27, 2020.
State leaders selected Austin Middle School for its Academic Excellence, Developmental Responsiveness, Social Equity and Organizational Structure and Processes. In addition, Austin Middle 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. Billy Pringle, State Director for Schools to Watch in Texas and TASSP Associate Executive Director for Middle-Level Services, stated, “We congratulate Principal Matthew Neighbors and his staff, students and parents for being a campus that does great things for all of their students.
This school has demonstrated that a high-performing middle school is a place that focuses on academic growth and achievement. Austin Middle School is a place that recognizes the importance of meeting the needs of all students and ensures that every child has access to a challenging high-quality education.”
The Schools to Watch selection process is based on a written application that requires schools to show how they met criteria developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. .
Schools that appeared to meet the criteria were then visited by state teams, which observed classrooms, interviewed administrators, teachers, students and parents, and looked at achievement data, suspension rates, quality of lessons, and student work.
Original source can be found here.
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