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CLARKS SUMMIT — Abington Heights Middle School was re-designated as a School to Watch at the Pennsylvania Association for Middle Level Education Conference. A building wide celebration is scheduled at the Middle School on Friday, March 20.
“Schools to Watch” (PA STW) is part of a recognition program developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform. In partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Pennsylvania Association for Middle Level Education, Duquesne University, Edinboro University, Shippensburg University and Horace Mann Service Corporation, the Pennsylvania “Schools to Watch” team.
State leaders selected each school 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.
Linda Hopping, Chair, as well as other members of the National Forum Schools to Watch Oversight Committee, explain that 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, which observed classrooms, interviewed administrators, teachers, students, 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 demonstrate progress on specific goals in order to be re-designated. 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 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 criteria developed by the National Forum. There are now 19 states across the country, which have trained Schools to Watch State Teams, with more than 380 schools recognized.