PRMS Educators accept award.

The Pennsylvania Don Eichhorn Schools to Watch Selection Committee is redesignating Pine-Richland Middle School as a School to Watch in its 2010 program.

DuBois Middle School was also redesignated officially today (March 1, 2010). Both DuBois and Pine-Richland were originally designated in 2007.

Dr. Harrington, PRMS principal, says the selection committee described PRMS as an “exciting, electric environment for learning inspired by a hardworking staff” the first time around and that’s no exception for this redesignation phase.

In 2007, students celebrate PRMS' designation as a School to Watch.

“This is a team award,” Dr. Harrington said. “I am really proud of the middle school. The staff gives 110 percent every day. The kids are marvelous. That’s because of the parents. This starts with the central administration and the school board. They’ve been really supportive.”

 

The program is a recognition program developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Pennsylvania Middle School Association, Duquesne University, Edinboro University, Lehigh University and Horace-Mann.

 

The Pennsylvania Schools to Watch team announced that four new schools have been designated exemplary Middle Grade Schools and named Schools to Watch. They include:

• Cedarbrook Middle School, Wyncote
• Charleroi Middle School, Charleroi
• Donald H. Eichhorn Middle School, Lewisburg
• Dorseyville Middle School, Pittsburgh

 

The four newest schools will be recognized at the Pennsylvania Middle School Association Conference in State College on March 2.

 

Each school was selected by state leaders for its academic excellence, its responsiveness to the needs and interests of young adolescents, and its commitment to helping all students achieve at high levels. In addition each school has strong leadership, teachers who work together to improve curriculum and instruction, and a commitment to assessment and accountability to bring about continuous improvement.

 

“We congratulate these schools for being places that do great things for all of their students,” said Dr. John Harrison, past president of the National Forum. “These schools demonstrate that high-performing middle grades schools are places that focus on academic growth and achievement. They are also places that recognize the importance of meeting the needs of all of their students and ensure that every child has access to a rigorous, high-quality education.”

 

Selection was based on a written application that required schools to show how they met criteria developed by the National Forum. Schools that appeared to meet the criteria were then visited by state teams who observed classrooms, interviewed administrators, teachers, and parents, and looked at achievement data, suspension rates, quality of lessons, 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 redesignated. Unlike the Blue Ribbon recognition program, “Schools to Watch” requires schools to not just identify strengths, but to also focus on areas for continuous improvement; thus the three year redesignation.

 

PRMS Teacher Anne Harris Crowe says that Schools to Watch are schools that demonstrate:

• Academic Excellence: challenge students to use their minds well
• Developmental Responsiveness: schools sensitive to the unique developmental challenges of early adolescence
• Social Equity: schools are democratic and fair, providing every student with high-quality teachers, resources, and supports
• Organizational Structure/Process: high performing schools establish norms, structures, and organizational arrangements to support and sustain their trajectory toward excellence.

 

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 National Forum. The Forum developed a web site (http://schoolstowatch.org) that features online tours of schools, as well as detailed information about the selection criteria used in the recognition program.

 

In 2002, the National Forum began working with states to replicate the “Schools to Watch” program as a way to introduce the Forum’s criteria for high-performance and identify middle grades schools that meet or exceed that criteria.

 

“We are pleased that our Schools to Watch program has shown that schools can meet high academic expectations while preserving a commitment of healthy development and equity for all students,” said Dr. Deborah Kasak, National Forum Executive Director. “These Schools to Watch are indeed special; they make education so exciting that students and teachers don’t want to miss a day. These schools have proven that it is possible to overcome barriers to achieving excellence, and any middle-level school in any state can truly learn from their examples.”

 

The National Forum sponsors the Schools to Watch along with the National Association for Elementary School Principals, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Staff Development Council, and State Schools to Watch affiliates.

 

The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform is an alliance of 65 educators, researchers, national associations, and officers of professional organizations and foundations dedicated to improving education in the middle grades.