[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9718]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    THREE OF THE TOP PERFORMING MIDDLE GRADES SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, this week, three middle 
schools located in Pennsylvania's Fifth Congressional District--Mount 
Nittany Middle School in State College, Park Forest Middle School in 
State College, and Titusville Middle School in Titusville--have been 
named three of the top performing middle grades schools in the country 
by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. I rise today 
to recognize and congratulate these three schools for this noteworthy 
achievement.
  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 young 
adolescents across the country. Every year, the forum, through their 
Schools to Watch program, identifies schools across the United States 
for their high performance.
  The forum's members believe that three things are true of high-
performing middle grades schools: They are academically excellent; 
developmentally responsive schools that are sensitive to the unique 
developmental challenges of early adolescents; and socially equitable, 
schools that are democratic and fair, providing every student with 
high-quality teachers, resources, and supports.
  Later this week, these three schools will be recognized with 97 other 
high-performing schools from across the Nation during the forum's 
annual conference. I am proud to represent these incredible teachers, 
administrators, and students. These outstanding efforts deserve 
recognition, and I want to congratulate all of you for this awesome 
achievement.

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