The seven articles in this document concern children, programs, and teachers in the middle grades. The first article, "Essential Elements of Effective Middle Level Education" (C. K. McEwin) serves as an overview of the subsequent articles. "Middle Schools; A Re-Appraisal" (H. E. Sadoff) cautions educators against assuming that a school structure simply labeled "middle school" is automatically an answer for all the issues of early adolescent education. The next two articles, entitled "North Carolina Middle School Teachers Rate Their Preservice Programs and Their First Year of Teaching" (J. Gretes, J. A. Queen, and K. Daguano) and "The Teacher in the Middle" (D. A. Butler), reveal first year teachers' perception of training needs for sucessful teaching and identify characteristics needed by effective middle level teachers. "You Are What You Eat: Diet and Academic Performance" (M. Strubbe) reports on the consequences of poor diet for preadolescent children. The final two articles focus on mental maturation in early adolescence. "Research and Logical Reasoning of Middle School Students" (M. J. Wavering) discusses what middle school educators should expect from students as logical reasoners and suggests implications for developmental stages of instruction. Ways any adult might help the middle grade child move from concrete experiences to abstract understanding are described in "The Middle School Years: A Time to Look Ahead" (T. S. Dickinson). (RH)