Examines collaborative decision making in middle schools and methods to facilitate this underused strategy. Examines research on collaboration in the areas of school environment, classroom instruction, student learning, and decision making in schools. Factors of successful environments are examined including principal commitment, trust, focus on…

Describes how, as part of the Middle School Achievement Project, Minneapolis parents and community members shadowed students and teachers, and experienced middle level classrooms while collecting data about curriculum and classroom environments that led to middle level school improvement. Details study procedures including study instruments,…

Mandated standards do not pose a threat to developmentally responsive middle level programs; rather, how standards are interpreted determines their appropriateness for educating young adolescents. Differences in responses to mandated standards are reflective of an individual school's culture. Understanding culture and cultural leadership provides…

Discusses two challenges facing middle level leaders in their efforts to emphasize curriculum and instruction: creating and maintaining high-quality developmentally appropriate curriculum and instruction in an era of standards-based reform and high-stakes accountability, and assisting teachers in making the changes in their classrooms that will…

Argues that learning must be the number one leadership priority of middle school principals. Contends that principals need to find more effective ways to lead and to organize their schools for learning by reexamining school values, school vision, instructional practices, cultural traditions, organizational structures, curricular decisions, and use…