Twin Towers Middle School


Twin Towers Middle School is one of two middle schools in the Enlarged City School District of Middletown in Middletown, New York, United States. It is located at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Wisner Avenue in the northern section of the city. Completed in 1940, it was used as Middletown's high school until 1976, when the Veraldi Junior High School was expanded and became Middletown High School. Twin Towers Middle School gets its name from the two ornate towers at the front of the building, not the original World Trade Center buildings as many believe.
In the past, the school had been at the center of some controversy. During the sexual-abuse investigation into former school superintendent Robert Sigler, school officials, were faulted for doing too little to prevent the abuse. Two years later, violence in the school had reached such a level that a city police official said Twin Towers was responsible for more police complaints than any other school. In one incident, students started a "fight club" that was only stopped when parents learned of it and informed the school. The district had been unsuccessfully seeking federal grant money for a resource officer but later decided to pay for the positions itself.
In recent years, Principal Gordon Dean and the highly regarded staff have made major improvements. Twin Towers is now considered far safer and no longer requires a School Resource Officer. Fights and other building incidents are on the decline, and the school outperforms other schools regularly. In a recent year, almost 2/3 of those graduating with honors from Middletown High School previously attended Twin Towers Middle School.