Canonsburg Middle School marks third Schools to Watch honor

Bruce Vosburgh told the packed auditorium at Canonsburg Middle School the prestigious designation the school received Friday was about “more than just test scores.”
Vosburgh, state director of the Schools To Watch program – run by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform – spoke during an assembly marking the school’s redesignation as a Don Eichhorn Pennsylvania School to Watch.
“It’s beyond humbling to be standing in front of you as the principal of CMS,” said Greg Taranto, adding the assembly marked the third time the school has been a recipient of the award.
The school, which has about 850 students in the seventh and eighth grades, is one of 37 schools in the state to named in the School to Watch program. Schools keep the label for three years.
“It’s about the program,” Vosburgh went on. “It’s about the people inside of the program, and it’s about you all and the activities that you have to go through this.”
The National Forum’s website says it evaluates schools under the broad criteria of “academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity, and organizational structure” as part of its process for awarding the desgination. The award is offered in 17 states.
Canonsburg Middle School first received the distinction in 2011.
Eichhorn, the award’s namesake, was an Etna, Allegheny County, native and education theorist who began his career as an educator in Upper St. Clair.
The roughly hourlong assembly included proclamations by local, county and state elected officials.
“When we look at a successful school such as Canonsburg, it’s because Canonsburg holds high expectations for all of its students,” Vosburgh said. “They give all of their students the opportunity to be successful.”