Hudsonville’s two middle schools — Baldwin Street and Riley Street — have been named “Schools to Watch” by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform.

The district celebrated the honor with a ceremony Monday morning.

Six Michigan schools applied for the designation.  The honor is given to those schools that meet extensive criteria — including “academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity and organizational structure” — developed by the group.

Bottom line, state coordinator Steve Hoelscher told 24 Hour News 8, is those surveying the schools are looking for models of middle school education.

“Is this a place where I would want my child to attend?” Hoelscher said.  He said the winning schools should be places any teacher from around the country could visit to see an example of best practices in education.

Taylor Lautner as Jacob in Twilight

West Michigan native in “Twilight”

Taylor Lautner was born in Grand Rapids and grew up in Hudsonville, and now his career is set to take-off after his role in Twilight.

Back in July, I posted a blog about Taylor, but with the switch to the new website, I have had to re-post and re-write what I posted then.

Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart in Twilight

Taylor plays Jacob Black, a werewolf and possible love interest of Bella, the main character in Twilight, a teen vampire/romance movie.

Taylor’s filmography includes: Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005), The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D (2005), Shadow Fury (2001)

From his bio on IMDB.com – Taylor began studying karate at the age of six, training at Fabiano’s Karate School (340 E Lakewood Blvd, Holland, MI or Fabiano’s Karate School website).

“Twilight” poster courtesy Summit Entertainment