Rialto Unified School District’s Kolb Middle School Earns Schools to Watch Honor in D.C. 

Ben F. Kolb Middle School continues to put the Rialto Unified School District on the education map after recently being honored with the National Schools to Watch recognition during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. 

Kolb Middle School is one of only 189 middle schools, including just 55 schools that are new to the honor, across the country that earned the National Schools Watch distinction. Schools were honored at a ceremony during the National Schools to Watch Conference, which was held June 22 to 24 in the nation’s capital. The award is presented by the National Forum, a nonprofit educators’ association dedicated to improving education and school-based supports for all young adolescents in the middle grades. 

Kolb Middle School teachers, Principal Tina Lingenfelter, former Principal Armando Urteaga, and RUSD staff celebrated the honor alongside Board of Education Member Evelyn P. Dominguez, at the National Schools to Watch Conference.

“I was proud to be the Principal during this tremendous achievement, and I congratulate the students and staff of Kolb for earning this prestigious national honor,” Urteaga said. Urteaga was promoted from the school’s principal to a Lead Personnel Agent position in the RUSD earlier this year. “I am very proud of the progress Kolb Middle School has shown over the past few years. We transformed the school culture and focused on academics while working through challenges like the pandemic. Kolb staff was determined to put student learning first. This hard work proved successful. We increased academics and attendance and lowered negative student behavior.  This transformation and focus on academics has earned Kolb Middle School both State and National Schools To Watch recognition.” 

The honor puts Kolb Middle School in an exclusive club. According to a press release from the National Forum, each school was “selected by state leaders to serve as a model to mentor other schools because of its demonstrated social equity, developmental responsiveness, academic excellence, and innovative systems.” Schools to Watch have strong leadership, teachers who work together to improve curriculum and instruction, and a commitment to continuous improvement that is based on supporting the whole child through social, emotional, and academic growth. 

“It is an incredible honor to have Kolb Middle School be awarded the National and State Schools to Watch Award,” said Lingenfelter. Lingenfelter attended Kolb Middle School as a student and joined the school as a principal earlier this year. “I am grateful to be a part of such an amazing team of teachers and individuals here at Kolb. As the new principal, my goal is to continue to support and foster the exceptional work the dedicated teachers and staff have demonstrated to our Kolb students and families.”

The Schools to Watch program’s uniqueness is reflected in its requirement that all teachers and administrators at candidate schools complete an extensive rubric that evaluates the school’s systems as part of the application or reapplication process.

In March, Kolb Middle School was selected as one of the 78 California middle schools, hand-picked by the California Schools to Watch program for 2023. This significant honor was presented during a ceremony in Monterey and highlights the exceptional work of the staff at Kolb Middle School.