Advisory. It’s a concept that has been around nearly as long as the middle school movement, defined as regularly scheduled times when students have the opportunity to interact with a small group of peers and a teacher-advisor. But why should schools have them? What should they accomplish? And how do you convince reluctant teachers it’s
While family engagement is frequently a pain point for middle schools, AMLE has heard from many school leaders that the struggle is especially real this year. As we emerge from COVID, schools are having to reestablish that culture of family engagement – with parents and caregivers who want to be engaged in new and different
Read More… from Fostering Family Engagement in the Middle Grades: Beyond the Weekly Newsletter
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Our children have so much to tell us. Sometimes it is by expressing their feelings in big ways, other times it is through their actions, and how they direct their bodies to react; in other situations it is through eloping from a space, or shutting down, caught within a freeze. Frequently, as we have seen
Read More… from Navigating the Gray: Trauma in the Middle Grades
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As you enter the classroom, the lights are dimmed and a dozen students are scattered throughout. Some are folding origami; another is using a wood burning kit to etch a magnificent dragon plaque. Others are reading quietly. You have entered the “Calm room.” It’s one of four rooms that 6th graders at Olmsted Falls Middle
Read More… from Play, Move, Calm, Think: An Advisory Approach with Student Choice at the Center
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How one school’s daily advisory program became a cornerstone of their culture The evidence is clear that young adolescent students benefit from having their academic and personal development guided by an adult advocate. Many schools promote this goal through an advisory program, or regularly schedule times when students can interact with a small group of
Read More… from An Advisory Program for the Whole Child and Whole School
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As a Latin teacher, I struggle with creating authentic learning experiences. Most authentic Roman cultural experiences would get me reprimanded or fired. Authentic Latin literature? I teach beginning Latin to middle school students. Yesterday a student put verb endings on a noun. I am, however, an authentic teacher. If I am to be truly authentic
Read More… from Authenticity, Duplicity, and the Philadelphia 76ers
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