This article explores how a laboratory middle school (LMS) serving students from low-performing elementary schools and students with academic or social-emotional challenges is developing as a trauma-responsive school. The authors explore the literature, school/community context, student cases, and the ways in which classroom and school-wide…

The rising percentage of nonwhite students in the U.S. public school system accompanied by persistent educational debt and racial inequities presents an opportunity gap for many marginalized students. Scholars suggest that teaching ethnic studies curriculum with critical race pedagogy can help address the opportunity gap. Ethnic Studies centers on…

Hallways, cafeterias, buses, bathrooms, locker rooms, and other spaces in and around school property serve as venues for positive and negative social processes. Middle school educators can gain important insights into the adolescent world by exploring student perspectives of these spaces vital to middle school social experiences. Often unseen or…

The decline in middle school students' motivation and engagement during young adolescence remains a concern for educators, administrators, and educational researchers. This article draws on the philosophies of providing the appropriate person-environment fit and meeting students' basic psychological needs to enhance teaching and learning. These…

Contemporary professional development efforts have shifted away from a deficit model toward the acknowledgment of the agency and ability of teachers to evaluate and direct their own professional learning. This article describes how middle school science teachers can take charge of their own learning by initiating and participating in…

The COVID-19 pandemic caused schools to shift to virtual or hybrid instruction, thrusting young adolescents into a very different educational environment. Stage-environment fit theory outlines ways in which educational contexts may, or may not, meet the developmental needs of young adolescents. Yet little is known about how virtual environments…

At the middle school level, active family engagement is difficult enough with native English speaking families but even more so with parents of English learners (ELs). Using a funds of knowledge approach in this article, we position families as knowledgeable participants with strengths who contribute significantly to their adolescent's academic…

Young adolescents who are LGBTQIA+ often encounter hostile experiences while in middle level schools. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 young adolescents who are LGBTQIA+ at two middle schools to determine their experiences. Students report the ages at which they realized their gender and sexual identities: Five reveal…

This article posits that the restorative practice of community circles offers middle school students a safe, empowering space where moments of social and emotional strife can be addressed and possibly prevented. It also recognizes that by creating a safe and empowering classroom community, students who have or are experiencing trauma can find…

It is essential for middle school leaders to develop and promote school-wide literacy models, organizational structures that have a significant impact on the learning environment for all students in their building. However, school-wide literacy models can be difficult to implement and sustain over time. Drawing from an Office of Special Education…

Restorative Justice Practices (RJP) offer a positive approach to discipline while also providing middle school students opportunities to develop social-emotional skills (conflict resolution and self-management). RJP contrasts sharply with traditional, punitive, zero-tolerance discipline models which perpetuate systemic inequity in schools,…

Exposing middle school students to characters with disabilities in young adult literature will not only forward an agenda of diversity in literature, but also teach readers about bullying and its repercussions for a vulnerable group of adolescents. The connections created through studying these novels can help build and strengthen a safe,…

This article illustrates how action research can be used as a model for professional development with middle grades educators in rapidly changing and technology-intensive schools. Drawing upon ten years of using this model, the authors present three examples of educator action research to highlight five characteristics of effective projects: (1)…

AMLE advocates for educators to respect and value young adolescents. Yet, the narrative surrounding early adolescence in the United States centers chaos, hormones, and emotional drama. Middle school educators repeat or hear some version of this narrative daily, yet it remains unchecked and unaddressed in professional development. Deficit…

The detected decline in middle school students' school engagement during the period of young adolescence is concerning. As middle school can be perceived as a time in which plans for higher education and career considerations begin to take shape, planting seeds for future aspirations certainly seems appropriate. This article draws on the…