Grand Junction, Colo. (KKCO) - School district 51 gets national recognition for excellence as one of three school districts in Colorado with trailblazer "Schools to Watch". Both Redlands and Bookcliff Middle Schools were honored on Monday.

The School to Watch program means a school meets the criteria of social equity, developmental responsiveness, organizational structure and achievement. "Well the neat part about getting the designation is that you get to attend some conferences whereyou present what you feel the practices are that other schools could use. When you go to the conference you get to steal a lot of good ideas from other middle schools, they steal some ideas from you. It's just a really nice networking piece that we have to look forward to for the next couple of years," says J.B. Phillips assistant principal at Bookcliff Middle School.

A banner will be presented to Bookcliff Middle School on March 22. Repersentives from both Bookcliff and Redlands Middle schools will be honored in Washington D.C. in June. This is the first time in Colorado history that two schools in the same district have received the award in the same year.