January 15, 2020 - Austin, TX
Freeport Intermediate School in Brazosport ISD earns National distinction by
being designated a School to Watch!
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
Freeport Intermediate School in Freeport, TX and Brazosport ISD as a Texas School to Watch!
Freeport Intermediate School joins approximately 45 other campuses across Texas with this
distinction and honor.
Freeport Intermediate 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 Schools to Watch campuses from across the country in
Washington DC at the National Forum Schools to Watch Conference on June 24-27, 2020.
State leaders selected Freeport Intermediate School for its Academic Excellence,
Developmental Responsiveness, Social Equity and Organizational Structure and Processes. In
addition, Freeport Intermediate 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 Ian White 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.
Freeport Intermediate 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. Schools are
recognized for a three-year period, and at the end of three years, they must demonstrate
progress on specific goals in order 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 researched 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 of healthy development and equity
for all students,” said Ericka Uskali, 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,” Uskali 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.