Post-pandemic, students are yearning for connection. This has made the shared purpose that school mission statements and core values provide for a school community critical. And, I argue, one of the best ways to realize this collective “why” is through advisory. Done well, successful advisory programs are designed around the needs of students, giving them
Advisory/Advocacy
I say often, “Kids are kids, no matter where they learn.” I still believe that’s true, but today’s middle schoolers have endured so much and I have seen wide variance in their ability to thrive through the challenges of the past few years. It’s no wonder parents and educators continue to struggle to support them
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Introduction While the world seems to have largely moved beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact remains. The pandemic was a harrowing time for all of us, but it had perhaps the most profound effect on education. While this experience revealed the bravery and perseverance of both students and teachers, it nevertheless came with challenges—and we’re
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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
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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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