By AMANDA ODOM
STISD Public Relations & Marketing
The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform and the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals (TASSP) as part of a national recognition program, have designated South Texas Independent School District (STISD) Rising Scholars Academy in San Benito as a Texas School to Watch. Rising Scholars joins approximately 60 other campuses across the state with this distinction and honor.
Rising Scholars will be recognized in Austin at the Making Middle School Matter Symposium hosted by TASSP on March 3-5, 2024, and will be recognized nationally with all the other recognized STW schools from across the country in Washington D.C. at the National Forum of Schools to Watch Conference on June 20-22, 2024.
According to the Texas Schools to Watch program, state leaders selected Rising Scholars for its academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity and organizational structure and processes. In addition, Rising Scholars has strong leadership, teachers who work together to improve curriculum and instruction, and a commitment to assessment and accountability to bring about continuous improvement, according to a press release issued by STISD.
Leticia Menchaca, State Director for Schools to Watch in Texas and TASSP Associate Executive Director for Middle-Level Services, remarked, “We congratulate Principal Reynaldo Rodriguez and his staff, students, and parents for being a campus that does great things for all their students. This school has demonstrated that a high-performing middle school is a place that focuses on academic growth and achievement. Rising Scholars Academy 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.
Schools are recognized for a three-year period, and at the end of three years, they must demonstrate progress on specific goals to be re-designated. Unlike the Blue Ribbon recognition program, “Schools to Watch” requires schools to not just identify strengths, but to also focus on areas of continuous improvement; thus, the three-year re-designation.
Launched in 1999, Schools to Watch began as a national program to identify middle-grades schools across the country that were meeting or exceeding 37 research-based criteria developed by the National Forum.
The Forum developed a web site – https://www.middlegradesforum.org/ – that features online tours of schools, as well as detailed information about selection criteria used in the recognition program. There are now 17 states across the country, which have trained Schools to Watch State Teams, with more than 480 schools recognized across the country.
“We are pleased that our Schools to Watch program has shown that schools can meet high academic expectations while preserving a commitment to healthy development and equity for all students,” said Cathy Perry, National Forum Executive Director. “These Schools to Watch are indeed special; they make education so exciting that students and teachers don’t want to miss a day. These schools have proven that it is possible to overcome barriers in achieving excellence, and any middle-level school in any state can truly learn from their examples,” Perry said.
The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform began as an alliance of 65 educators, researchers, national associations, and officers of professional organizations and foundations dedicated to improving education in the middle grades.
South Texas ISD Rising Scholars Academy is one of two middle schools within South Texas Independent School District, a state and nationally recognized public school district offering tuition-free college and career-preparation to students from Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy Counties.
Located in San Benito, the campus serves sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students from throughout the Rio Grande Valley through a rigorous academic curriculum, enabling them to participate in above-grade-level coursework and develop the skills and habits necessary for success in higher learning while still in junior high. For additional information, visit http://risingscholars.stisd.net or call (956) 399-4358.
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