Canonsburg Middle
School Recognized as
a Don Eichorn Schools
to Watch in 2020
“S
chools to Watch” (PA STW) is a recognition program
developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-
Grades Reform. In partnership with the Pennsylvania
Association for Middle Level Education (PAMLE), Duquesne
University, Edinboro University, Kutztown University, and the
Horace Mann Service Corporation.
State leaders selected each school for its Academic Excellence,
Developmental Responsiveness, Social Equity and Organizational
Structures and Processes. 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. Bruce
Vosburgh PA State STW Director, stated, “We congratulate these
schools for being places that do great things for all of their
students. 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 challenging, high-quality
education.”
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 to Accelerate Middle
Grades Reform. 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, they 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. The
re-designation process is based on the schools continued growth
since their last STW recognition.
Schools recognized for Re-designation (3) this year include
three schools that were initially recognized nine years ago. This is
the third time these school have been re-designated.
• Canonsburg Middle School is 1 of 42 in the state currently
holding the designation.
• Canonsburg Middle School is 1 of 5 in the state who have
been designated four or more times.
Launched in 1999, Schools to Watch began as a national
program to identify middle-grades schools across the country
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CANON-MAC
that were meeting or exceeding 37 researched based criteria
developed by the National Forum. The Forum developed a web
site https://www.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
17 states across the country, which have trained Schools to Watch
State Teams, with more than 650 schools recognized across the
country.
“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 Ericka Uskali, 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,” Uskali said.
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.
“I am proud of our school’s Schools to Watch designation
because we have from our original designation in 2011 continued
to make program decisions based on what is best for middle
school students. We focus on a true ‘whole child’ education that
goes well beyond our core subject areas and it has paid dividends.
It is a deserving designation to recognize our great students,
parents, teachers and staff!” Says Dr. Greg Taranto, Canonsburg
Middle School Principal.
There will be a celebration for the school sometime in May.