Congratulations to the 90 California middle-grades schools that have been recognized by the California Schools to Watch program for 2025!
These model schools support the whole child through academic excellence, social equity, developmental responsiveness, and systems that foster innovation.
In addition to the 46 new schools, 44 existing Schools to Watch reapplied to the program, demonstrated their sustained progress, and have been redesignated as California Schools to Watch.
Schools to Watch Celebrations
The 2025 Schools to Watch will be celebrated twice this year.
First comes the California Schools to Watch Celebrations in Monterey, with district leaders being recognized on March 6 and school teams being recognized on March 7 as California Schools to Watch. Representatives from the California Department of Education and the California Middle Grades Alliance, partners in the state-level program with the California League of Middle Schools, will be part of these events.
Second, the school teams will go to Washington, DC, from June 26-28 for recognition as National Schools to Watch by the National Forum, the nonprofit organization that oversees the national program.
Why the Program is Expanding
The program is expanding rapidly, with the number of schools participating in the network doubling over the past 3 years. There are now 246 California Schools to Watch.
At least part of the increase in the network’s size over the past few years can be attributed to how the program criteria value the whole child … something that is increasingly important to schools.
“Schools to Watch lends itself to SEL issues,” Scott Steele, director of the California Schools to Watch program, said. “The positive culture that is present on Schools to Watch campuses carries more weight with us than checking a box with a test score.”
The rubric’s focus on the whole child keeps students’ holistic social, emotional, and academic needs at the center. And this year, as Steele put 20,000 miles on his car driving across California to lead validation visits at candidate schools, he noticed some SEL-oriented trends.
“Creative scheduling and staffing that allow schools to deliver intervention services without impacting electives or other core curriculum have been some of the main things I’ve seen and been impressed with, “Steele said. “Some of the new positions that schools have been able to create and fill include wellness coordinators, interventionists, and social workers.”
The Schools to Watch program is unique in that all staff at a candidate school who have a credential—all teachers and administrators—must complete an extensive rubric that evaluates the school’s systems as part of the application or reapplication process.
This step helps school teams identify what is great at their site as well as what needs to be improved. It also develops a shared language for school improvement, buy-in for the improvement process, and ownership of the school culture among the staff.
That’s why Steele views a school being designated or redesignated as a School to Watch as an accomplishment for the entire school community. “The Schools to Watch rubric really is a great tool for schools,” he said. “It helps them to go through that process. Often on my visits, staff members told me that the rubric helped them recognize needs they had in their school.”
Congratulations to all the schools named 2025 California Schools to Watch!
2025 New Schools to Watch
A. E. Kent Middle School, Kentfield School District
Animo Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle School, Green Dot Public Schools
Arrowview Middle School, San Bernardino City Unified School District
Bell Mountain Middle School, Menifee Union School District
Beverly Vista Middle School, Beverly Hills Unified School District
Buena Park Middle School, Buena Park School District
Camerado Springs Middle School, Buckeye Union School District
Cesar E. Chavez Middle School, San Bernardino City Unified Schools District
Dorothy McElhinney Middle School, Murrieta Valley Unified School District
El Cerrito Middle School, Corona Norco Unified School District
Ethel Dwyer Middle School, Huntington Beach City Unified School District
George Visual and Performing Arts Magnet and Middle School, Adelanto Elementary School District
Goleta Valley Junior High School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Gordon H. Beatty Middle School, Buena Park School District
Grandview College Preparatory Academy, Hacienda La Puente Unified School District
Harvest Park Middle School, Pleasanton Unified School District
Helen Stacey Middle School, Westminster School District
HighTech LA Middle School, Los Angeles Unified School District
International School of Monterey, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District
John L. Compton Junior High School, Bakersfield City School District
Johnson Middle School, Westminster School District
Katherine Edwards Middle School STEAM & Dual Immersion Academy, Whittier City School District
La Joya Middle School, Visalia Unified School District
Laurel Street Elementary School, Compton Unified School District
Navelencia Middle School, Kings Canyon Unified School District
Norris Middle School, Norris School District
North Park Academy of the Arts, El Rancho Unified School District
Paakuma' K-8 School, San Bernardino City Unified School District
Rancho Viejo Middle School, Hemet Unified School District
Reginald M Benton Middle School, Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District
River Heights Intermediate School, Corona Norco Unified School District
Rodriguez PREP Academy, San Bernardino City Unified School District
Sarah McGarvin Intermediate School, Garden Grove Unified School District
Serrano Intermediate School, Saddleback Valley Unified School District
Silas Bartsch School, Kings Canyon Unified School District
Simons Middle School, Pomona Unified School District
Sparks Middle School, Hacienda La Puente Unified School District
Stonecreek Jr. High School, Panama Buena Vista Union School District
Sussman (Edward A.) Middle School, Downey Unified School District
Temecula Middle School, Temecula Valley Unified School District
Terra Cotta Middle School, Lake Elsinore Unified School District
Valley View Charter Prep, New Jerusalem Elementary School District
Walter F. Dexter Middle School, Whittier City School District
Warner Middle School, Westminster School District
Washington Intermediate School, Dinuba Unified School District
White Hill Middle School, Ross Valley School District
2025 Redesignated Schools to Watch
Badger Springs Middle School, Moreno Valley Unified School District
Christensen Middle School, Livermore School District
Culver City Middle School, Culver City Unified School District
Curtis Middle School, San Bernardino City Unified School District
Del Mar Middle School, Reed Union School District
Edna Hill Middle School, Brentwood Union School District
Fairmont School, Sanger Unified School District
Firebaugh Middle School, Firebaugh Las-Deltas Unified School District
Frank J. Zamboni Middle School, Paramount Unified School District
Fulton & Alsbury Academy of Arts and Engineering, Lancaster School District
High Desert School, Acton-Agua Dulce School District
Indio Middle School, Desert Sands Unified School District
John Glenn Middle School, Desert Sands Unified School District
Kairos Public Schools Vacaville Academy, Vacaville Unified School District
Lake Center Middle School, Little Lake City School District
Las Palmas Middle School, Covina-Valley Unified School District
Mistletoe STEM Institute, Enterprise Elementary School District
Mitchell Senior Elementary School, Atwater Elementary School District
Newton Middle School, Hacienda La Puente Unified School District
Nicolas Jr. High School, Fullerton School District
O.J. Actis Junior High School, Panama-Buena Vista Union
Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle School, Los Angeles Unified School District
Orange County School of Computer Sciences, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified
Orange Grove Middle School, Hacienda La Puente USD
Palm Middle School, Moreno Valley Unified School District
Peggy Heller Elementary School, Atwater Elementary SD
Quail Lake Environmental Charter, Sanger Unified School District
Reyburn Intermediate School, Clovis Unified School District
Russell Parks Junior High School, Fullerton Elementary
Sanger Academy Charter, Sanger Unified School District
Santiago Charter Middle School, Santiago Charter Middle School
Sequoia Middle School (Fresno), Fresno Unified School District
Serrano Middle School (Highland), San Bernardino City Unified School District
Sierra Vista Middle School, Covina Valley Unified Sch. Dist.
Southridge Tech Middle School, Fontana Unified School District
Thurston Middle School, Laguna Beach Unified School District
Toby Johnson Middle School, Elk Grove Unified School District
Traweek Middle School, Covina-Valley Unified School District
Tuffree Middle School, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District
University Heights Middle School, Riverside Unified School District
Vista Heights Middle School, Moreno Valley Unified School District
Wayne Ruble Middle School, Fontana Unified School District
Wendy Lopour Doty Middle School, Downey Unified School District
Yorba Linda Middle School, Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School District
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