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Association for Middle Level Education

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Moving from the Middle

Transition programs should address the procedural, social, and academic aspects of the move to high school.

The middle-to-high-school transition is fraught with stressful challenges. Principal among them is the change in school environments. Many students move from middle schools organized into interdisciplinary teams of...

Author: Cheryl R. Ellerbrock, Jennifer M. Denmon, Bridget Mahoney, Michael Dicicco, & Laura Sabella
Number of views (15041)/Comments (0)/

Topics: Transitions to/from Middle School

Tags: Transition to High School

Smooth Sailing to Middle School

Action, articulation, and activities provide a framework for the transition to middle school.

Fear of the unknown—or fear based on a false belief—is one barrier fifth graders and their parents face as they make the transition to middle school. When this barrier is removed, students can embrace the...

Author: Joy Jameson Lea
Number of views (21874)/Comments (0)/

Topics: Transitions to/from Middle School

Tags: Transition to Middle School

Focus on School Climate

The Maryland State Board of Education recently approved new school discipline regulations designed to end disparities in how students of different races are punished for violating school rules. The new policies are...

Author: Bob Wise
Number of views (14732)/Comments (1)/

Topics: School Culture/Climate

Tags: Achievement Gap Education Policy Dropout Prevention

Be Irresistible

So if teaching in middle school is not about popularity, what is it that makes students what I call “pickers and choosers”? They go into one room and are well-behaved and on target; in other rooms a whole...

Author: Elyse S Scott
Number of views (18250)/Comments (0)/

Topics: Teaching

Tags: Student Engagement New Teachers

Lessons Learned from a Startup

Education is indeed a noble calling. Among and between the frustrations, red tape, glacial speed of change, monotony, and normal emotional fallout of “crucial conversations,” there are those wonderful,...

Author: Jason Larocque
Number of views (10145)/Comments (1)/

Topics: Leadership Professional Development School Culture/Climate

Tags: School Improvement

Teacher Collaboration: Keys to Common Core Success

A new survey sheds light on keys to successful implementation of Common Core State Standards.

Think about the Common Core State Standards as an ambitious remodeling project happening all over the country. Forty-six states and the District of Columbia have adopted new shared goals for what their students should...

Author: Catherine Awsumb Nelson
Number of views (24152)/Comments (1)/

Topics: Common Core State Standards Leadership Language Arts and Literacy Professional Development

Tags: Literacy

Nurturing Effective Middle Level Schools

Support, passion, and positive relationships are ingredients of an effective middle level school.

Henry Ford said, “Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right.” I often share this quote with students who tell me they are not good at this or that subject or...

Author: Ann Edwards
Number of views (24249)/Comments (0)/

Topics: Middle School Concept School Culture/Climate

Tags: Student Engagement Student Motivation Guidance

Middle Grades Educators: Carpe Diem!

Middle grades educators must continue their work in the face of continuing challenges.

Take a minute and read the following paragraph. It contains a challenge that I believe we should all take to heart. The middle school is accepted in theory, and its possibilities have proved so alluring that the...

Author: John H. Lounsbury
Number of views (7706)/Comments (0)/

Topics: Middle School Concept

Tags:

Developing Relationships with Difficult Students

Four simple strategies can help forge a positive teacher-student relationship.

As Mary watched Ashleigh get off the bus, she knew it was going to be “that kind” of day. Ashleigh was mad and yelling in the faces of the other children. Mary watched her push her way through the hallway,...

Author: Lori Rakes & Audra Parker
Number of views (49520)/Comments (2)/

Topics: Classroom Management Teaching

Tags: Student Engagement Student Motivation Humor In the Classroom

Digging into PISA Results

Most of the headlines following the latest results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) focused on the fact that the performance of 15-year-olds in the United States has remained flat for the...

Author: Bob Wise
Number of views (10427)/Comments (0)/

Topics: Leadership

Tags: Education Policy

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