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Monrovia’s Clifton School Newly Designated as Model Middle School
Education Feb 09, 2017
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Clifton Middle School in Monrovia, CA. -Courtesy photo by Keith Johnson
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced Wednesday that 11 high-performing California middle schools have been newly designated as model middle grades schools in the 2015–16 Schools to Watch™—Taking Center Stage (STW™—TCS) program. Clifton was on that exclusive list.
Torlakson also announced that the sustained progress of 19 previously chosen STW™—TCS schools will allow them to retain their designation.
“These are 30 fantastic schools that do such a terrific job of helping students succeed with academics and succeed as they face all the other unique challenges of being in middle school,” Torlakson said. “It’s a significant time in a student’s life, and they need special teachers, staff, and administration to help them prepare for success in 21st century careers and college. These schools do all of that and more. These outstanding schools serve as role models for middle schools up and down the great state of California.”
La Cañada High School (7-8), La Cañada Unified School District was also on the list.
STW™—TCS middle grades schools are high-performing model schools that demonstrate academic excellence, responsiveness to the needs of young adolescents, and social equity. These schools host visitors from California and around the world who are looking to learn practices they can use to improve their middle grades schools and close the achievement gap.
Model schools have been recognized for programs including high school prerequisite courses such as Algebra II and Chinese II, conflict resolution courses, after-school tutoring and extracurricular activities, and collaborative working relationships between special education and general education students and teachers.
The STW™—TCS program is sponsored by the California League of Middle Schools (CLMS) and the California Department of Education, in partnership with the California Middle Grades Alliance.
Schools must complete an extensive application that is reviewed by middle grades experts to earn this designation. In order to retain the designation, each school is re-evaluated every three years.
All of the schools will be recognized in Sacramento at the California Middle Grades Alliance annual luncheon on Feb. 23, and during the California League of Schools’ Annual Conference North on Feb. 24 – Feb. 26.
For more information about the STW™—TCS program, please visit the CLMS High Performing Middle School Models Web page.
