Friday, February 23, 2018 - 11:51am By Ed Martin, Editor
Lemoore Union Elementary School District's Liberty Middle School will a hold a celebration of its designation as a "School to Watch" at a ceremony March 16 at 2 p.m.
Lemoore Union Elementary School District's Liberty Middle School will a hold a celebration of its designation as a "School to Watch" at a ceremony March 16 at 2 p.m.

Students, staff, administrators, and parents of the Lemoore Union Elementary School District – and especially Liberty Middle School – have earned some well-deserved recognition. The local middle school was recently named a “School to Watch” by the California Department of Education.

California State Superintendent Tom Torlakson announced this week that 22 high-performing California middle schools earned recognition in the 2017-18 Schools to Watch-Taking Center Stage program. They join 24 previously chosen schools whose sustained progress will allow them to retain their “Schools to Watch” designate.

"Congratulations to these schools for doing excellent work to help students believe in themselves, set high goals and dream big," Torlakson said. "These schools are outstanding examples of how educational innovations can keep students engaged and learning throughout a transitional time in their lives."According to Torlakson, the high-performing schools all demonstrate academic excellence, social equity, and responsiveness to the needs of young adolescents.

“There are several recognition events associated with this award,” said LUESD Superintendent Cheryl Hunt who announced the honor this week. “The first one comes from the California Middle Grades Alliance which will honor district superintendents and board presidents of new and re-designated schools at a luncheon to be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Sacramento on March 1.”

Earning honors as well are Liberty Middle School Principal Ben Luis and the staff, and they will be feted on Saturday, March 3 at the California League of Middle Schools Conference.  “We will then have our school presentation of award and celebration on March 16,” said Hunt. “In addition, Lemoore Middle School will be honored and recognized at the national conference in Washington, DC on June 30. 

“I am extremely proud of the leadership, dedication, and focus of our Liberty Middle School team,” said Hunt. “They are an exceptional group of instructional leaders and truly deserve this recognition.”

The local ceremony will be held March 16 at 2 p.m. in the Liberty Middle School Quad. The event will conclude at 3 p.m. followed by a reception hosted in the school’s cafeteria for the staff and guests.

Students, staff, parents, district leaders, school board members and community members and leaders will be in attendance March 16.

The school and its students will receive a school banner, denoting the prestigious award, and several staff members will speak. Dr. Irvin Howard, past-president of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform noted that “Liberty School is a model of what an outstanding middle school can be.”

The 22 newly designated “Schools to Watch” schools are:

The 24 re-designated “Schools to Watch” schools are:

The Schools to Watch program is sponsored by the California Department of Education, California League of Middle Schools (CLMS), and the California Middle Grades Alliance. Schools must complete an extensive application that is reviewed by middle grades experts. To retain the designation, each school is re-evaluated every three years. All the schools will be recognized in Sacramento at the California Middle Grades Alliance annual luncheon March 1, 2018. For more information about the program, please visit the CLMS High Performing Middle School Models Web page.