Story provided by Stillwater Public Schools

Stillwater Middle School and Richmond Elementary recently achieved the prestigious honor of being named Great Expectations Model Schools. The school’s principal, faculty, and staff at both sites worked diligently to accomplish this impressive goal. This is the Middle School’s third and Richmond’s seventeenth year to attain the title.

SMS and Richmond are showcases for the rewarding benefits that Great Expectations provides students, faculty, staff, parents and the community, and they will be visited by other schools/districts. Great Expectations schools have a culture of respect and high academic achievement. “These schools are truly shining stars in the community, state, and nation. The staff and faculty are to be highly commended for their efforts. We are overjoyed to add them to our list of ‘Showcase Schools’,” said Dr. Linda Dzialo, President and CEO of Great Expectations.

The Great Expectations Program, founded in 1991, is a scientifically-based research educational reform model that is bringing major change and innovation to PK-12 public and private school classrooms in Oklahoma and beyond. The program represents an approach to learning that empowers teachers to expect and to get the best from students; it rekindles the excitement of discovery among both students and teachers, and it pushes everyone involved to greater heights of achievement.

The basic principles of the program are: high expectations for students, a learning climate based on mutual respect between student and teacher, student self-esteem, a belief that all students can learn, positive teacher attitude, and highly skilled and knowledgeable teachers who inspire and enable students to achieve success. Over 40,000 educators have been trained in the GE Methodology. There are currently GE Model schools in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Michigan and South Carolina.

More information about the program can be found at www.greatexpectations.org.