Brentwood Middle School Recognized as 2025 Colorado Trailblazer Schools to Watch!

For the third time, Brentwood Middle School has been named a 2025 Colorado Trailblazer Schools to Watch!, making it one of five schools in Colorado to receive the prestigious designation.

The Colorado Association of Middle Level Education selects the honorees. Brentwood Middle School is one of 100-plus schools that will be recognized nationwide at the National Schools to Watch Conference in June 2025 in Washington, D.C. A team from Brentwood has been asked to present at the national conference on their best practices for student engagement and achievement.

“The leadership and staff at Brentwood have done incredible work to engage students and families, focus on student achievement and create a culture of learning,” said Superintendent Dr. Deirdre Pilch. “We are proud of Brentwood staff and students. They are truly deserving of this honor.”

Selection for this honor is based on a written application that requires schools to show how they met the criteria developed by the Forum. State teams organized by the Colorado Schools to Watch program conduct site visits in order to affirm that they have met the rigorous requirements of the award. These teams observe classrooms; interview administrators, teachers and parents; and review achievement data, suspension rates, instructional quality and student work.

Schools are recognized for a three-year period, and at the end of three years must repeat the process in order to be re-designated. This is the second time Brentwood has been re-designated as Trailblazer honoree and third time to receive the honor.

“Being honored as a School to Watch really is a testament to the amazing community we have at Brentwood. Our staff works tirelessly to ensure our students have engaging academic experiences in an environment where they can be their authentic selves,” said Brentwood Principal Nicole Petersen. “Through this recognition, we are also able to support other schools across the state as they look for promising practices that truly work for adolescent learners.”

This year, five schools were designated as Colorado Schools to Watch: Altona Middle School, Brentwood Middle School, Flagstaff Academy, Mountain Vista Community School and Preston Middle School. Launched in 1999, Schools to Watch began as a national program to identify middle-grades schools across the country that were meeting or exceeding 37 criteria developed by the Forum. The Forum developed a website (www.middlegradesforum.org) that features online tours of schools, as well as detailed information about the selection criteria used in the recognition program. 

Twenty states are currently involved in the program and the addition of these schools raises the total number of Schools to Watch to more than 425 nationwide.