Norton Middle School Honored for Teaching Excellence by the New England League of Middle Schools

Norton Middle School has been awarded the New England League of Middle Schools Spotlight designation.

Interim superintendent of schools Dr. Christopher Martes said Norton Middle School principal Michael O’Rourke received a letter from New England League of Middle Schools recently regarding the designation. Martes said the school will maintain the designation for three years.

The letter stated Norton Middle School had consistently worked to improve the school and teacher-student interactions. Martes said NMS was one of 12 other schools to be put in the spotlight in Massachusetts, out of hundreds of other districts.

“It is very, very well deserved,” he said. "This school district has a lot of good stories to tell. This is quite a noteworthy award and gives the Norton Public School system another really good story to tell. This is just a great accomplisment for a school that really works hard.”

School committee member Beth McManus said it was a testament to the hard work put in by the school’s staff.

“When I came on this committee six years ago, Norton Middle School was not like where it is today,” she said.

School Committee chair Andrew Mackie said he is extremely proud of this accomplishment, especially considering the tumultuous period of life in which NMS students are going through.

“I think we all remember being adolescents,” he said. “It’s a pretty dramatic period in your life in terms of how many changes you are going through. They’re very challenging kids to teach. It’s very nice to see an outside organization recognizing that we’re tuned into that."