The accolades for Ashe County Schools continue to roll in as Ashe County Middle School Principal Bobby Ashley will represent the county school system at the 2009 Schools to Watch Conference in Washington, D.C. on June 25-27.

According to schoolstowatch.org, The Schools to Watch program is a “significant force in middle-grades reform.” It identifies and honors schools nationally so all might learn how to achieve academic success through best practices for all young adolescents. Sites selected as Schools to Watch exemplify the National Forum’s vision and serve as resources for other schools, the Web site stated.

Ashley explained that he will “tell the story of Ashe County Middle School” during a special meeting with Roberto Rodriguez, who is the Special Assistant to President Barack Obama for Educational Policy. He said that the middle school has been selected as a School to Watch for the ninth year, a feat that only seven schools nationwide have accomplished. Recertification for this distinction is required every three years. These schools will be joined by ACMS during a special luncheon at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Washington, D.C.

Ashley will be the only active principal to join Rodriguez in the special meeting during the conference.

“First off, it was truly an honor for me to represent Ashe County Middle School because the award isn’t about me, it’s about the school,” Ashley said. “Secondly, it is an honor for me to represent the Ashe County School System…the school system is really doing some great things.”

Superintendent Donnie Johnson shared Ashley’s enthusiasm on the school’s renewals as a national School to Watch.

“I think that ACMS has done a great job and I’m glad the school was able to get the renewal,” Johnson said. “I’m extremely pleased with Bobby Ashley with what he has been able to do at the middle school.”

The security clearance necessary for Ashley to meet with the high ranking school official was extensive.

“I had to send in all kinds of documentation in for security reasons,” Ashley said.

During the meeting, Ashley explained that he will demonstrate how ACMS has excelled academically based on the forum’s listed criteria of what a School to Watch consist of. He stated that he will elaborate on the fact that the school has achieved academic excellence, which he said was based “hugely on test scores.” Secondly, Ashley will explain how ACMS has achieved social equity in the sense that every student is given equal access to academic opportunities such as the enrollment of students in honors classes. Schools deemed fit to carry a School to Watch tag must also met requirements under the criteria of developmental responsiveness, a point of emphasis Ashley intends to expand upon during the meeting. This means that the school must provide programming that is developmentally appropriate for middle school kids, Ashley said.

He said that during the meeting he will explain how ACMS is organized as a “school within a school,” the forum’s fourth criteria known as organizational structure. Ashley stated that this accomplished within the school through the implementation of a six-team system that divides 90 students per team. The teams are derived from names or themes commonly referencing weather patterns, cars, animals, and geographic features.

For more information on the forum or the Schools to Watch Conference, please visit www.schoolstowatch.org.