PATTON — The Cambria Heights Middle School has once again been designated as one of the Don Eichhorn Schools: Schools to Watch.

The honor recognizes outstanding middle schools across the nation for academic success, responsiveness to youth interests and needs and setting high achievement levels.

Cambria Heights first was recognized as a Don Eichhorn Schools: Schools to Watch in 2012 and was selected again in 2015.

Cambria Heights was one of only 37 middle schools in the state to receive the recognition for 2018.

“This is an outstanding achievement for this school,” Middle School Principal Jarrod Lewis said.

In order to receive the recognition, middle schools are graded on criteria that include academic excellence, social equity, developmental responsiveness and organizational structures and processes.

After receiving an audit conducted by the Schools to Watch, Lewis said the middle school successfully met all of the criteria.

“We did very well across the board,” Lewis said. “The program provided us with a lot of input and feedback. It is most important for us to use those suggestions and improve upon what we have.”

Lewis, who is in his first year as the middle school principal, said Cambria Heights was the only middle school in the area to receive this recognition.

“It’s so nice to see a small school in Patton receive an award like this,” eighth-grader Braden Thomas said. “I’m proud to say that I go to school here.”

Lewis said the school is able to perform so well because of the “tremendous support from the community, school board and administration.”

“What we always put first and foremost is our students,” Lewis said. “Not only are we invested in them academically but also socially and emotionally. We want to get to know all of our students as an individual.”

The goals set by the administration are understood by the students.

“You know the staff’s

No. 1 priority is the student,” eighth-grader Kadence Della Valle said. “The teachers here will help you with anything.”

This is not the only honor received by Cambria Heights. The district was recognized for its advanced-placement physics program created this year in the high school for students who plan to enter the science or technology field.

On Dec. 8, the program participated in the Chain Reaction Challenge at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh.

The Chain Reaction Challenge, which requires teams to build mechanical contraptions that test functionality, complexity and creativity, had 43 schools present reactions for professional engineers in the Pittsburgh area.

In its first year of participation, the Cambria Heights Physics Program was awarded Rookie of the Year as well as receiving third-place overall in the competition.

Michelle Schirf, the high school learning support and gifted support teacher, said the program was very beneficial to all of the students involved.

“This was a wonderful experience for the students,” Schirf said. “The competition not only taught the students about engineering and chain reactions, but it taught them how to work together as a team.”

Guidelines for the Chain Reaction Challenge require a minimum of 20 chain reactions to occur, with a final move requiring an object to be weighed.

The students chose a miniature Statue of Liberty as the object to be weighed.

Students were very pleased with the program, Schirf said, and the district plans to continue to participate in the program.

“We learned so much by competing in this competition,” honors student Paul Kinney said. “This is something we would all love to compete in again.”