Leadership training for youth is an investment in our present and future. Yet providing effective training can be challenging in terms of time and curriculum—especially in high-poverty communities, as we...

A school year ends and we ask ourselves, "What can we do to make next year the best year ever?" Every spring, our K–8 school staff meets to discuss what we would like to do to make our school a better place to...

An advisory program is a key element for any middle school. Advisory provides that sense of belonging that 10- to 15-year-olds crave. It also offers teachers a chance to discuss with students issues that simply don't...

Kids hate homework, parents expect homework, and teachers give homework. But is homework necessary for achievement or academic success? "Homework remains one of the biggest challenges and concerns facing teachers...

We stood in the empty classroom. Lisa looked up at me. "I couldn't understand what I read last night," she said. I looked at her, speechless. The class was reading a novel, and I wondered why Lisa had been failing...

What is parent involvement? Parent involvement is important to the educational success of a young adolescent and yet generally declines when a child enters the middle grades (Epstein, 2005; Jackson & Andrews,...