Too many schools continue to struggle with closing the achievement gap. The No Child Left Behind legislation was supposed to change all of this, though today we still have too many students left behind. Lawmakers...

More than 90% of Simon Middle School's 620 students are economically disadvantaged, 95% are minority, 52% are English language learners, and 14% have special needs, so ensuring that all of its students are successful...

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...

What bridges the gap between a culture of despair and a future of hope for children who live in poverty? The answer is simple: effective educators who will not settle for mediocrity, who will not accept excuses for...

Ruthie Smith Stevenson, Ph.D., is a professor and coordinator of the doctoral program in educational leadership K–12, at Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi. She is a member of the Mississippi Board of...

Research has shown that, particularly in high-poverty environments, students' middle grades experiences are critical in launching them toward achievement and attainment or placing them on a path of frustration,...

While observing in several classrooms recently, I noticed teachers who had outstanding lesson plans, but many of their students had other plans—texting, engaging in sidebars, talking out, and engaging in other...

Collaboration is one of the essential attributes of successful middle grades schools. The benefits of working together are apparent in the joint efforts of a small midwestern college and an urban middle school to...

State standardized test scores at Cedarbrook Middle School in the Cheltenham (Pennsylvania) School District had been stagnant for several years and the achievement gap within our school dismayed and disheartened all...