There is a wealth of empirical, historical, and theoretical literature on school reform, types of reform initiatives, and the educational change process. Middle grades practitioners and advocates are intimately familiar with the list of the essential components that must be present for schools to effectively educate young adolescents. Over the…

In this final series, the author draws wisdom from the story of Hansel and Gretel to recommend a path forward and to call everyone to action in the critical work of educating every young adolescent. The author believes that middle school educators can learn an important lesson about survival during difficult times from the classic German fairy…

Renewing the Middle School is a special three-part series in which the author, an eminent scholar in the field of middle grades education, offers his view on the status of middle grades education and its prospects for the future. In this part of the series, he responds strongly to some of the criticism that has been aimed at American public…

In this article, the author provides a historical perspective on the middle level movement, examines its past successes and failures, and envisions future improvements. The middle school movement has been a prime target for those forces that do not share the belief middle level advocates hold about the importance of a democratic, student-centered…

Schools should be proactive rather than reactive to issues of technology safety, and this requires careful planning and policy implementation. In this article, the authors provide information and recommendations that will help middle grades educators, students, and parents to safely and successfully manage the many technologies they encounter and…

This article describes how the teachers in a sixth grade mathematics inclusion class used differentiated instruction to better meet the needs of all learners in the classroom. In an inclusion class with students of mixed abilities, differentiated instruction allows the teacher to meet the needs of every learner by providing students with multiple…

In this article, the author presents an interview with Sue Swaim, the National Middle School Association's (NMSA) longest-serving executive director. During the interview, Swaim reflects on her personal experiences leading NMSA. For fourteen years, Swaim's tenure provided a continuous, consistent voice for young adolescent education. Upon…

It should surprise no one that there are faculties throughout North America that refer to themselves as professional learning communities (PLCs) yet do none of the things that PLCs do. Conversely, there are faculties that could serve as model PLCs that may never reference the term. A school does not become a PLC by enrolling in a program, renaming…

This article illustrates how the transformation of a classroom into an interactive museum devoted to historical inquiry, not only satisfies the need to meet history standards, but more importantly, results in rich and rewarding learning opportunities for students. Here, the authors present three purposes of writing this article, and these are: (1)…

In this article, the author relates her teaching experiences with her gifted student named Chris, as well as her understanding of behaviors of gifted and talented students like Chris. In order to understand the difficulties that gifted students encounter, she uses a case study research method in documenting her work with Chris. She emphasizes the…

Asserts that in addition to providing safe places where students can develop a sense of belonging, after-school programs can enhance performance in the regular academic program of middle school students. Specifically reviews current research on the impact of after-school programs on academic achievement, work habits, interpersonal skills, and…

Examines the relationship between a journey and a destination in terms of the educational experience, where learning is the journey but test scores have become the destination. Focuses on the loss of curriculum areas that are untested in favor of the destination of math and reading scores. Asserts that middle school students deserve both measured…

Contends that by acknowledging the influence of media literacy on adolescents' lives outside the classroom, teachers have a potential source for motivating student interest and eliciting their higher order thinking abilities within the classroom. Specifically addresses merging popular culture with classroom culture and provides a paradigm for…

Examines the reliability and validity of high stakes standardized tests and the impact of linking state-level high stakes testing to the standards movement on middle school curriculum, instruction, and student achievement. Asserts that such testing ends up harming the most vulnerable students and schools. Offers a vision of student assessment that…

Maintains that the No Child Left Behind initiative is a morally neutral force that can be used to ensure that all students learn to their fullest capacities or to reinforce educational inequalities by limiting the curriculum of some students. Expresses fear that middle school curricula in failing schools will be limited to getting students ready…