By Megan Alley
Sun Reporter
Goshen Middle School is proudly sharing its continuing designation from the Ohio Department of Education as a “School to Watch.”
School administration learned of the news earlier this month.
The naming means that the school is part of a selection of “exemplary middle schools who are growth-oriented and constantly ‘on the move’ toward higher achievement of all students,” according to a press release from the ODE.
The OSTW program is part of an initiative from the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform that identifies schools across the country that are on track to meeting the criteria for “high-performing” middle-level schools.
The criteria is broken down into the categories academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity, and organizational structures and processes.
Out of the 13,253 middle schools across the country, some 488 are designated as National Schools to Watch, and 17 middle schools out of Ohio’s 1,044 have earned the designation.
GMS first received the honors in January 2017, but the program requires schools to reapply for the designation every three years.
That process includes meeting academic targets on state tests, turning in an application, and a successful site visit from the review board.
GMS Principal Wendy Flynn helped guide the school through the process of being evaluated by the ODE’s OSTW committee.
“The committee is focused on improvements based on the previous site visit. They are also interested in any new programs/initiatives, changes, and/or approaches that have been implemented since being designated,” reads the press release.
The committee interviewed administration, teachers, staff, students and parents about the school, and they visited every classroom to assess whether or not the school matched the criteria of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform.
“The OSTW Committee that visited GMS was impressed with the interventions and programs that have been put in place since they last visited,” reads the press release. “One committee member said, ‘GMS has become a community of practice that seeks new initiatives to support the needs of all students. There is a shared vision that drives change in the building’”
Flynn recognized her staff for their part in the school’s continuing achievement.
“I’m proud of the GMS staff for how well they support our students every day. This designation is a great reflection of our staff and how focused they are in meeting all of the needs for all of our students,” she’s quoted as saying.
Now, GS is scheduled to be recognized by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform at the National Schools To Watch Conference in late-June in Washington, DC, as well as by the Ohio Middle Level Association at their annual conference in late-October in Columbus.
As art of the NSTW program, GMS is anticipated to host visiting administrators from middle schools across the country to allow them to see what works in the school’s classrooms, and GMS school administration and staff will also share their school’s strategies for success during the conference in Washington DC.