Pictured, from left, are Brendan Walsh, Jordyn Perfetta, Kristen Seurkamp, Rebecca Strauss, Angela Clark, Meg our facility dog, Kelly DeNu, Wendy Flynn and OMLA President Kelli Cogan. Photo courtesy Goshen Local Schools.
Goshen Middle School was redesignated an Ohio Schools to Watch by the Ohio Department of Education.
The Ohio Department of Education’s Ohio Schools to Watch (OSTW) program recognizes exemplary middle schools who are growth-oriented and constantly “on the move” toward higher achievement of all students. The initiative launched by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform identifies schools across the U.S. that are well on their way to meeting the criteria for high-performing middle-level schools which include academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity, and organizational structures and processes. Only 488 out of 13,253 middle schools across the entire country are designated as National Schools to Watch and 17 middle schools out of 1,044 in Ohio have received this honor.
GMS was initially designated in January of 2017 under the leadership of then the principal, Mark Edwards. As a designated OSTW building, the school must apply for re-designation every three years. The process to become re-designated as a National School to Watch and an Ohio School to Watch includes meeting the academic criteria on state tests, submitting an application for consideration and a successful site visit from the review board.GMS has now been re-designated under the leadership of Principal, Wendy Flynn. To qualify for the distinction, the building staff must meet criteria set by the ODE’s OSTW committee in the areas of academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity and effective organizational structure and processes. 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. To do this they interview administration, teachers, staff, students and parents about the school. They also visit every classroom to evaluate if the school matches the rigorous 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. 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.” GMS Principal, Wendy Flynn gave kudos to her staff. She said, “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.”
As a re-designated Ohio School to Watch GMS will be recognized by:
The Ohio Middle Level Association will also recognize re-designated Ohio Schools to Watch at their annual conference. November 10,2022 Columbus, OH.
Part of becoming a National School to Watch includes allowing other administrators from middle schools across the United States the chance to see what works in our classrooms as well as representatives from the school travel to the national conference in Washington D.C. to talk to schools across the country about what they are doing at Goshen Middle School.