On May 11, 2018, Twin Valley Middle School celebrated its 2018 Don Eichborn Schools “Schools to Watch®” designation with a school wide pep rally, followed by a reception with artistic and musical performances, and recognition given to its students, staff and leadership by Board President Gary McEwen, Superintendent Robert Pleis, Senator Judith Schwank and Senator John Rafferty Jr.
Bruce Vosburgh, the State Director of Pennsylvania Association for Middle Level Education, presented the certificate and spoke to the audiences at both gatherings.
Twin Valley Middle School joins 35 other Pennsylvania middle-grades schools recognized previously. Twin Valley Middle School will be recognized nationally with all the other recognized Schools to Watch® schools across the country in Washington, DC at the National Forum’s National Schools to Watch® conference on June 28-30, 2018.
The Schools to Watch® selection process is based on a written application that required schools to show how they met criteria developed by the National Forum. TVMS was visited by state teams, which observed classrooms, interviewed administrators, teachers, students, and parents, and looked at achievement data, suspension rates, quality of lessons, and student work. TVMS is initially recognized for a three-year period, and at the end of three years, they must demonstrate progress on specific goals in order to be re-designated. Unlike the Blue Ribbon recognition program, “Schools to Watch®” requires TVMS to not just identify strengths, but to also focus on areas for continuous improvement; thus the three year re-designation.
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 researched based criteria developed by the National Forum. The Forum developed a web site (http://middlegradesforum.org) that features online tours of schools, as well as detailed information about the selection criteria used in the recognition program. There are now
18 states across the country, which have trained Schools to Watch® State Teams, with more than 450 schools recognized across the country.
The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform began as an alliance of 65 educators, researchers, national associations, and officers of professional organizations and foundations dedicated to improving education in the middle grades.
Learn more about Don Eichhorn, the educator and his legacy:
Please click below to visit the National Schools to Watch® website.
More information about Twin Valley Middle School’s School Characteristics and Replicable Practices can be found here: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/0b6eef_7a2495e4392e4f26a6c3c40ca1ca3c38.pdf
