Last week, the New York State Department of Education notified South Orangetown Middle School Principal Dr. Karen Tesik that SOMS had earned re-designation as a National School to Watch Model School, which honors excellence in middle-level education. SOMS first received this national recognition in 2015.
The rigorous Essential Elements National Schools to Watch Recognition Program rubric emphasizes a model of continual improvement.
“The reason I like this model is that it’s not one and done,” says Dr. Tesik. “The whole purpose of this program is to bring in outside experts in middle level education to assess your programs. It promotes continuous momentum forward in four areas: academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity and organizational structure and processes.”
The recognition reflects the hard work and partnership forged among staff, administrators and PTA over several years.
“As part of my entry plan nine years ago, I discussed my vision for SOMS to be a model middle school. It took us six years to get to where we felt confident that we’d made adjustments in our program and our thinking about students in this age group. At that point, we did an internal survey and members of our team participated in a training in Albany, where they were able to role-play what it would be like to be a part of the visit and hear from other principals about why they chose to embark on the National Schools to Watch process.”
The re-designation process entailed a three-year improvement based on upon feedback provided from the last visit, a written program review, a rubric completed by all staff online, and a site visit where the state team met with focus groups comprised of students, staff, and parents.
“What I’m most proud of is the ability of the whole staff, parents and community to rally behind a model of continual improvement: To celebrate what we do well and to commit to doing better in areas where we can improve. It has brought us together,” Dr. Tesik reflects. “Having PTA at the table allowed us to effectively communicate to families about why we do things differently, such as teaming, at the middle level. Too often, people don’t want to talk about middle school–it’s awkward, it’s uncomfortable. But this program celebrates it. Middle school is a key part of a student’s journey to be successful long-term. It’s really important to get it right in the middle.”
With a second National Schools to Watch designation to its credit, SOMS clearly goes beyond just getting it right.
“We are very pleased that Dr. Tesik, her staff, and the entire SOMS community has made this long-term, shared commitment to a standards-focused, middle-level school program,” says Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Pritchard. “This commitment embraces those essential elements that consider the developmental characteristics of early adolescent learners.”
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