Pennsylvania Middle Schools Rank Top One Hundred In The Country

This week, three middle schools located in Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional District – Mount Nittany Middle School in State College; Park Forest Middle School in State College; and Titusville Middle School in Titusville – were named among the top one hundred performing middle grade schools in the country by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform is an alliance of more than 70 educators, researchers, and officers of national associations and foundations, dedicated to improving schools for adolescents across the country. Every year, the National Forum, through their Schools to Watch program, identifies schools across the United States for their high performance.

The Forum’s members believe that three qualifications are true of high-performing middle-grade schools. Schools must be socially equitable – democratic and fair, providing every student with high-quality teachers, resources, and support; They must possess developmental responsiveness – sensitive to the unique developmental challenges of early adolescence; and continually show academic excellence.

Later this week, these three schools will be recognized with 97 other high-performing schools from across the nation during the National Forum's annual conference. I’m proud to represent these incredible teachers, administrators and students. Their outstanding efforts deserve recognition. I congratulate all of them for their achievement and wish each school the best as they continue to educate to the highest standards.