Teachers Earn Statewide Promising Practitioners Award
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Four Upper St. Clair middle school teachers were honored with the Promising Practitioners Award from the Pennsylvania Association for Middle Level Education during the organization’s state conference Feb. 22, 2026, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
Fort Couch Middle School teachers Conan Rooney and Jeremiah Beaver, along with Boyce Middle School teachers Erin Lee and Katherine Fedko, received the recognition for their positive impact in the early years of their middle school careers.
Miss Lee is a fifth-grade math teacher and Ms. Fedko is a sixth-grade English language arts teacher at Boyce Middle School. Mr. Rooney teaches seventh-grade science and Mr. Beaver teaches seventh-grade social studies at Fort Couch.
According to PAMLE, the Promising Practitioners Award is presented to teachers who are beginning their middle school careers and have already made a meaningful impact on their schools and communities. Recipients demonstrate effective middle level practices in their daily instruction.
In addition to the individual honors, Boyce and Fort Couch middle schools were formally recognized during the conference as Schools to Watch. Announced in December 2025, Boyce and Fort Couch earned re-designation for the sixth time. Both schools were first named Schools to Watch in 2008 and have earned re-designation in 2011, 2014, 2017, 2020, 2023 and now 2026. They join DuBois Area Middle School and Pine-Richland Middle School as the only Pennsylvania schools to achieve seven total Schools to Watch recognitions.
School teams from both buildings participated in the conference and accepted the STW awards on behalf of their school communities.
PAMLE advocates for high-quality middle level education across Pennsylvania, promoting best instructional practices that support the academic and developmental needs of young adolescents.
- Boyce
- Fort Couch