(Milford)– A special honor for the Okoboji Middle School. It’s been named one of the top 10 middle schools in the state of Iowa by U.S. News and World Report. Principal Ryan Cunningham tells KUOO news Okoboji Middle School stands out among the 700 middle schools in Iowa…
“We felt very honored. It was fun really to share with the staff and then to share with the students on announcements and talking a little bit about that because it’s really their work that made this happen. And I think that while standardized assessment scores, this is primarily based on that, and we believe still a small part of what really defines a student. It’s still something that really honors the great work that was done at the middle school, and I think the other thing too is our elementary school needs a lot of credit as well for helping build a really awesome foundation on some of these skills so when they come to the middle school we can keep progressing.”
Students involved in a marketing program in the No Boundaries initiative at Okoboji Middle School are also sharing the news. Olivia Simington is one of them…
“I think it was very exciting and I think it’s fun to see our school just progress over the years, and it’s a really supportive school. We get to have a lot of opportunities with different classes and different teachers and it’s just a really fun experience.”
Danika Derner is another student involved in the No Boundaries program. She says it’s another reason Okoboji Middle School stands out among others…
“A lot of schools don’t have it but having it here at Okoboji opens up different kinds of businesses and things that you wouldn’t get to do in just a normal school day.”
Myles Hicks, another Okoboji Middle School student, says he’s learned a lot through the program…
“In marketing we’ve been having to do like audibles and stuff which is really fun. We work as a team to make them and also working as a team to find new things to help the school grow and just having fun while doing it.”
Cunningham says the special recognition speaks volumes for all of the staff and students at the Okoboji Community Schools.
