The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform welcomes visitors to take online tours featuring excellent middle-grades schools. "For those interested in seeing innovative successful schools in action but who do not have the time or travel budget for a national tour, this cyber tour is the way to go," said Deborah Kasak, executive director of the Forum. The virtual tour (www.schoolstowatch.org/visit.htm) is a feature of the Schools to Watch program, launched in 1999 as a national program to identify middle-grades schools that are not only academically excellent, developmentally responsive, and socially equitable, but also have the organizational supports to sustain the school's success.
"It's not difficult to find schools that excel in one area or another but it's challenging to find schools that excel across the board," said Joan Lipsitz, Chair of the Forum's Schools to Watch Committee.#
The National Forum co-sponsors the Schools to Watch program with the National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Middle School Association, and National Staff Development Council.