Three Northwest Arkansas schools celebrate Diamond status

Three Northwest Arkansas schools are among the newest Diamond Schools to Watch based on academic excellence, developmental responsibility to students and social equity.

Bentonville's Old High Middle School and Fayetteville's Woodland Junior High School and Holt Middle School earned Diamond status for the first time this year. They are three of about 150 middle schools nationwide designated as Schools to Watch.

Old High Middle School celebrated its award with an assembly Monday. Jason Brunner, the school's interim principal, started by offering praise to the staff and students.

"The reason we're all here is for you. We're here to celebrate you," Brunner told the students.

Brunner saluted the team of teachers compiling the application for the Schools to Watch status, saying they put many hours into the task.

The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform launched the Schools to Watch initiative in 1999 to draw attention to commonalities of high-performing middle schools, said Michelle Hayward, principal of Fayetteville's McNair Middle School and co-director of Arkansas Diamond Schools to Watch.

Schools to Watch is a national program, but Arkansas is the only state adding "Diamond" to the name of the honor. The designation is good for three years; after that, a school may apply for redesignation.

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Hayward attended Monday's assembly to congratulate the school and explain how schools end up being chosen for the honor.

"They are developmentally responsive, so that means they know who a kid is when they are a young adolescent, or pre-adolescent, and how to respond to that student not only academically, but as a whole child. Because a lot of things are going on with a student at that age," Hayward said.

Diamond schools are "socially equitable" in they provide every student with high-quality teachers, resources and support, and they are performing well academically, she said.

"It doesn't mean every kid is performing 100 percent, but we're working toward that," Hayward said. "We set them up for success. That's what Old High is doing right now."

At Monday's event attended by several community dignitaries -- including the mayor, the superintendent and five School Board members -- students saved their loudest cheers for former principal, Jeff Wasem. Wasem left the school last month to focus on his next job as principal of Creekside Middle School in Bentonville, which opens this fall.

Wasem, recalling a theme from a book he'd read, urged students to be "kinder than is necessary" to make the world a better place.

It's the relationships staff members build with students that makes Old High Middle School special, at least according to one teacher.

"That's from the top down," said Joveta Thrasher, a physical education teacher who worked on the Schools to Watch application. "The principal stresses relationships with students -- let's meet their needs, let's have relationships, and the learning will take place. Once you have those relationships, they trust you, they trust the system and they trust the curriculum."

Holt Middle School and Woodland Junior High School join two other Fayetteville schools, Owl Creek School and McNair Middle School, as Diamond Schools to Watch.

Becoming a Diamond School to Watch exemplifies the work of all Holt Middle School staff members, said Principal Matt Morningstar. Teachers, custodians, aides, cafeteria workers and bus drivers must work together to serve all Holt students, he said.

"It's a very demanding job," Morningstar said. "It makes it easier when we have that unity and direction."

Holt plans a celebration Thursday afternoon. Woodland Junior High School's ceremony is expected in April, said Alan Wilbourn, Fayetteville School District spokesman.

A focus for Holt is making sure each child has an identity, Morningstar said. An advisory program is a key part of that effort and aligns with the Diamond Schools' promotion of schools that are "socially equitable."

Each student is part of a pack, Morningstar said. The packs are named after dog races in keeping with the Husky school mascot. The packs are divided into six or seven advisory groups. Each advisory group consists of a teacher and fewer than 20 students who meet at the start of each day.

In their advisory role, the teachers become advocates for each student in their group. If a student faces a struggle, that teacher will work to find what the child needs, involving other teachers and staff as needed, he said.

"We pride ourselves that no kid can fall through the cracks," Morningstar said. "It's impossible for a kid to hide."

Kirksey Middle School in Rogers became the first school in Arkansas to achieve Diamond School status in 2007. Others include Hellstern Middle School, Helen Tyson Middle School and J.O. Kelly Middle School, all in Springdale.

NW News on 03/14/2017