Young adolescents have unique basic and developmental needs. Middle level educators are best able to reach and teach young adolescents when they understand students' needs and when the school environment, including its organizational structures and teacher practices, are responsive to these needs. Findings from a recently conducted…

This article offers a variety of culturally responsive approaches and activities so as to better know and understand our students' diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. These methods will not only help to make more equitable classrooms where we make meaningful connections with our students--but also yield useful data so as to inform our…

Middle and secondary schools have increasingly offered distance-learning classes as a means of meeting diverse student needs and curriculum requirements while using instructional and budget resources efficiently. Little emphasis has been placed on the readiness of students to participate and succeed in these less conventional learning…

Drawing upon research with Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) advisors, high-school principals, and two district-level administrators, we examine the potential and limits of the safe-space discourse that encompasses the aims of GSAs. We argue that this discourse conceals heteronormative school environments, which supplies the groundwork for hostility…

School bullying, also referred to as peer victimization, has increased rapidly in recent years and can be extremely harmful if schools and teachers do not establish effective bullying-prevention programs. Recent data on the number of students who are victims of bullying indicate that between 30 and 80 percent of students in schools report being…

The achievement gap that exists between white and minority students is, and has been, a persistent problem in education. Through research, many factors have been uncovered as contributors to this issue, although none has been shown to be the sole cause. A small number of schools have been able to narrow the achievement gap through the…

Integrated learning is well established in education, primarily in the classroom subjects. This article describes settings and ways for extending integrated instruction to physical education and music. Benefits of these connections include reinforcing content and better meeting the needs of students whose intelligences include the bodily…

Bullying is a serious and escalating problem in public schools across America. Each day, thousands of students face taunts and humiliation stemming from bullies. Bullying victims experience emotional and psychological problems that may persist for a lifetime. Other victims commit suicide or retaliate against bullies out of fear for their own…

This article shows that students tend to prosper in safe learning environments and that stakeholders are disturbed by the number of at-risk students that are being suspended and expelled from urban schools. The suspensions and expulsions result from repeated offenses, including disrespect and insubordination, gang fights, and possession of illegal…

The school resource officer (SRO) program began in the United States in the early to mid-1950s, however, the program did not gain prominence until the 1990s in response to various school shootings. According to national data, SROs can be found in 35 percent of school across America, regardless of level (elementary, middle, or high school),…

In response to questions related to school safety, in the 1990s the school resource officer (SRO) program gained prominence as an effective intervention strategy. Despite the widespread utilization of SROs in America's public schools, there exists a lack of meaningful research related to practices and effectiveness of SRO programs. A school…

Sexual minority students (most often gay, lesbian, or bisexual, but including anyone who does not or is perceived to not fit the common heterosexual stereotype) often face ongoing bullying and harassment in schools that goes unstopped by faculty or administration. These students suffer academically, emotionally, and physically as a direct result…

Recent news in the national media about two students' deaths as a result of harassment in school has highlighted a renewed desire for educators to address the culture of bullying and harassment in public schools, especially when the victims are targeted for their real or perceived differences. South Carolina's legislature responded to this need in…

From natural disasters to the financial debacle, it is clear to the educational community that crises know no boundaries. Far from a passing fad, crisis planning must be an integrated part of effective school district leadership. Two studies explore the status of crisis management in selected public school systems and offer recommendations for…

Because of the nature of institutional administration, the intrinsic characteristics of the teaching profession, and outside factors, educators may suffer from many stress-related problems such as anxiety, illness, and withdrawal. In this article, the authors offer three case studies taken from field analysis as examples of stress in the…