BELL INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL in Garden Grove celebrated its status as a “School to Watch” in a ceremony this week (GGUSD photo).

Bell Intermediate School in Garden Grove on Wednesday hosted a school-wide event to celebrate being named a 2017–2018 “School to Watch” model middle school.

Garden Grove Unified School District administrators, Board of Education Trustee Teri Rocco, Garden Grove City Council members, local elected officials, staff, parents, and students came together to honor Bell Intermediate for this outstanding accomplishment as Bell was one of only three schools in Orange County to receive this honor.

The celebration included a flag presentation from Pacifica High School’s NJROTC, a performance from Bell’s orchestra, a performance by the school’s show choir of a tune from Disney’s “Moana,” brief remarks from administrators and students, and a presentation of the Schools to Watch – Taking Center Stage banner from the California Department of Education.

California’s Schools to Watch-Taking Center Stage program uses a competitive, rigorous review process to identify high performing, high impact middle schools so that all middle schools may have models of real-world success. Bell is one of just 112 model schools that have been identified statewide since 2003.

Additionally, Bell is the first school in Garden Grove Unified to earn this award. Bell Intermediate School has adopted a school-wide focus on closing the achievement gap and offers an extensive mentoring and after-school tutoring program for math and literacy skills.

Additionally, staff and students were honored for having demonstrated “great success in creating a culture of kindness and acceptance.” Bell will be honored, along with the other Schools to Watch, at a ceremony in Sacramento in March and will be recognized as a National School to Watch at a ceremony in Washington D.C. in June.