Park Forest Middle School

Everyone who attended the board visit to Park Forest Middle School came away impressed by what they saw. I particularly enjoyed the tech ed classes and a sit-in on a PRIDE lesson (a worthwhile investment in school spirit which on this day involved students from all three grade levels.)

But I’ll single out one creative idea to share with you. On the afternoons of the PSSA exams, which occur in the morning over three days in April, teachers and administrators had noticed that the stress and adrenaline left over from the exams made it a challenge to get the students back into the usual routine.

So they decided to schedule the school's annual Health, Community Service, and Multicultural Fairs on those three afternoons. Not only does this provide a break from the routine, many of the activities give the students the much needed opportunity to blow off some steam. (In response to student feedback more physical activities were scheduled this year.) Another result that came out of the post-event student surveys: students began to report that they "looked forward" to the PSSAs. That's quite an accomplishment.