Chartiers Valley Middle School celebrates ‘Schools to Watch’ honor

Chartiers Valley Middle School students, an auditorium full of them, couldn’t help but laugh when a certain accomplished alumnus admitted:

“If I could go back to eighth grade — I wouldn’t.”

Former Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto took a more serious tone in acknowledging the difficulties faced by youngsters as they transition from tweens to teens.

“It’s a tough time, no matter if you were living in the glory days of the 1980s or in today’s crazy world. It’s a tough time in life. It’s a difficult time as you get ready to transition to get ready to go to high school,” the 1983 Chartiers Valley High School graduate said.

“But I can assure you this: You’re in a good place.”

Peduto served as guest speaker for a late-May ceremony saluting the middle school’s being named one of 10 Pennsylvania “Schools to Watch” in a program that involves close scrutiny of educational processes by experts in the field.

“We didn’t have honors like this when I went to school here. This is big time, guys. This is going to help you throughout life. It will help you get into the college you want. It will help to get you into the career that you’re looking for,” he said, joking: “Heck, it might even get you a date.”

The response among the students was kind of mixed for that one. But whatever the case, those in attendance — the celebration actually took place in the spacious CVTheatre at the high school — had plenty of reason to celebrate.

“Schools to Watch” is a designation conferred through a program developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform. In Pennsylvania, the program is named for the late educator Don Eichhorn, an Etna native and onetime Upper St. Clair administrator who led efforts to update the way 10- to 14-year-olds are taught.

Teams of evaluators visit schools to talk with building leaders, teachers, students and parents, and to observe classroom and examine achievement data, quality of lessons and student work. For Chartiers Valley Middle School, the process took place in October.

During the recognition ceremony, band students played “The Star-Spangled Banner” and further entertained the audience with renditions of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and “We Know the Way” from the Disney animated feature “Moana.”

Cast members of the 2023 school musical, “Newsies JR,” performed a choreographed rendition of its song “Seize the Day,” and two eighth-graders, Kennison Liang and Bobby West, gave speeches of encouragement.

Kennison challenged her classmates to avoid fear of failure.

“If you don’t make mistakes, how are you learning? Simple: You’re not,” she said. “I love challenges, and I hope you do, too. Because you’ll face a lot and then grow as you get older.”

Bobby called his final year at Chartiers Valley Middle school his favorite so far.

“But for the first year, I hated to be here. In our sixth grade was the peak of the covid-19 pandemic,” he said, with the result of having to learn remotely. “After that year, I was actually, like, excited to go to school.”

His goal is to attend Carnegie Mellon University, and he expressed appreciation to those who have guided him toward fulfillment:

“To all the wonderful teachers, staff and even my peers, thank you so much for my great experience in this wonderful school.”

Peduto conveyed similar gratitude on behalf of today’s educators at his alma mater.

“Thank you for the work that you do. Thank you for the work that gets noticed — and more importantly, thank you for the work that doesn’t get noticed — that brought us here today,” he said. “This is a testament to what happens when people work together.”

For more information about the Pennsylvania Don Eichhorn Schools: Schools to Watch Program, visit www.pamle.org/Schools-to-Watch.