Mentors and Community Resources Benefit Students

The Middle School Achievement Project: A Grassroots Effort Improves Middle Level Education 
Blanche Desjean-Perrotta
The League of Women Voters partnered with the Minneapolis Public Schools to reform 23 middle grades schools.

The Middle School Achievement Project: Involving Parents and Community in School Improvement
Sally N. Clark & Donald C. Clark
The shadow study technique proved to be a valid source of information for school reform by offering new insights about young adolescents, curriculum, and classroom and school environments.

Taking Reading/Writing Workshops to New Heights
Mary Fuller & Ruth Pettitt
An online literacy community consisting of eighth graders and preservice teachers proved to be an exhilarating experience for all the readers and writers.

Buscando la Voz que Siempre Tenia—In Search of the Voice I Always Had
Zulmara Cline
Taking a personal interest in a troubled youth is essential for guiding them to a positive life path.

A Case for Middle School After-School Programs in Rural America
Sheryl Feinstein
School-community partnerships can provide positive programs for rural youth in need of places to go after school.

"Turning Points" to Success: A Case Study of Reform in a Charter Middle School
Kathleen M. Brown & Kathleen Roney
A public charter middle school has been established to specifically embody the eight elements of the original Turning Points document.

Engaging Students in Meaningful, Integrative Environmental Lessons
Louis L. Warren & Michael E. Flinchbaugh
"Project Learning Tree" provides hands-on options to assist teachers in teaching about the environment.

Departments

The Editor Reflects
Tom Erb
When Is the Journey as Important as the Destination?

Research Into Practice
Maryann Mraz, Alison H. Heron, & Karen Wood
Media Literacy, Popular Culture, and the Transfer of Higher Order Thinking Abilities

What Research Says
Janet I. Angelis & Judith Irvin
Conversation in the Middle School Classroom: Developing Reading, Writing, and Other Language Abilities