Criteria & application process

Schools to Watch are on a sustained trajectory of improvement and can serve as models for other schools. The Schools to Watch criteria are deeply ingrained in the culture of the school.

Detailed criteria documents can be viewed/downloaded using the links below:

1. Academic Excellence
2. Developmental Responsiveness
3. Social Equity
4. Organizational Structures/Supports

You can also view the criteria with examples of supporting practices/evidence.

The application process includes the following components:

• Rubric:  Certified faculty members will complete a self-study rubric that rates your school on the components within the Schools to Watch rubric -- academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity, and organizational structures and processes.
• Application:  An application writing team will complete an application that shares how your school works towards the tenets of the Schools to Watch rubric -- academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity, and organizational structures and processes.
• Site Visit:  Upon completion of the rubric and the application, your school's application will be evaluated and it will be determined if your school merits a site visit based on your rubric and application.  A team of educators will visit your school to further understand your school's wok towards the tenets of the Schools to Watch rubric -- academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity, and organizational structures and processes.

We invite you to use the Schools to Watch Self-Study and Rating Rubric  that will give you a good read on where your school is in terms of meeting the criteria. If it does, contact Darryl Conner dawseyd.conner@cms.k12.nc.us , a North Carolina Schools To Watch Co-Director, in order to get a link for your school to go online and complete the rubric. The results will be automatically tabulated. All new applicants, as well as those applying for re-designation, must complete the rubric online. The results will become part of the application.