October 2010 • Volume 14 • Number 2
Promoting Parent Engagement
Parental engagement is important to the success of students and of schools. In this issue if Middle Ground, practitioners offer proven strategies for engaging parents in meaningful ways.
Member Access articles are available for purchase.
Editor's Note
Patricia George
I was as nervous about my first child going to middle school as he was.
Executive Director's Note
Dr. Drew Allbritten
Features
Building and Bragging: Celebrating Your Middle School
Randy Jensen
Building relationships with parents and community members is critical to support.
Sharing the WOW! Tips for Engaging Families
Mike Dietz
What's special about your school? Highlight the WOW factor.
Jump Start Your Parent Connections
Terry Neddenriep
Stop doing what isn't working and create a new plan to engage parents.
Steering Students Clear of Gangs
Tess Kluttz, Amy Brewer, Scott Clifford, & Daniela Turano
Educators can take steps to guide students away from gang influence.
Joining Forces for the Future
Charlie Beard
The benefits of working together are apparent in the efforts of a small midwestern college and an urban middle school.
Conference Takeover: Students in Charge
Samuel A. DePaul & Sandra E. Carter
Who better to share student progress than the students themselves?
Integrating Video Games into the Middle Grades Classroom
David Hutchison
Integrating video games into the middle grades curriculum can spark learning.
Technology, Writing, & Student Engagement
Brad Grout
Sometimes reluctant writers need a good role model.
Teachers as Heroes
Jim Nelson
There's no better time than now to give teachers the recognition they deserve.
Back to the Middle School Concept
Ken Cummings
One school recognized the value of going back to the original middle school concept.
Grabbing Students with Social Media
Elizabeth Delmatoff
Social media put urban students back on the path to achievement.
Helping ELLs Master the Dreaded Word Problem
Diana Picchi Cwynar & Susan Hewett
Some simple strategies can help ELLs better understand word problems in math.
In Every Issue
News to Use
Information to promote effective middle level education
Teams in Action
Greg Taranto, Jeremy Kuharcik, & Mindy Wright
Welcome to Camp Lightning Thief!
Teaching in the Middle
Rick Wormeli
Say "Yes" to Lectures
Click Here
Brenda Dyck
Emerging Technologies for Hire
Mark of Leadership
Tom Burton
Motivate from Within
Reviews and Resources
Books and resources of interest to middle level educators
Megaphone!
Amusing, interesting, and provocative comments from the field of education
Spotlight on Literacy
Supporting Literacy: Responsive Teaching and an Instructional Framework
Jessica Fries-Gaither
Variations on Round Robin Reading
Janis Harmon & Karen Wood
Copyright © 2010 by National Middle School Association