Middle School Gets a Bad Rap. It’s Time to Flip the Script.

“Bless your heart.” “I’m so sorry!” “Why?” If you’re a middle grades educator, it’s likely you’ve heard one of these reactions when you tell someone your profession. It’s not uncommon for people to recount negative memories from their own time as a middle schooler or bemoan, “kids these days.” Even though 10–15-year-olds are experiencing the

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8 NEW Characteristics of Middle School Kids: What Can We Do?

As an educator, do you ever feel like you might be at a point in your career where you’re like the old person sitting on the front porch complaining about people walking across their lawn? Have you started saying things like: “These kids today!” or, “When I was a teenager … ?” Some argue that

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Research to Practice: Addressing Student Motivation in the Middle Grades

About a month into her student teaching semester, Melissa voiced frustration about one student who just would not engage in social studies class. Gregory seemed disinterested and apathetic, and he seldom completed his assignments. Melissa was determined to make a breakthrough, but how? How could she get Gregory engaged in social studies? How could she

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Onboarding Middle School Families: A seat for everyone at the table

“It’s my child’s first day of middle school, now what?”  Parents and guardians across the country are grappling with this transition from child to young adolescent and navigating their role in school and daily life.  Although direct parent/guardian involvement often takes a back seat once students enter the middle grades, young people still need that

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Association for Middle Level Education Announces 2023 Schools of Distinction Recipients

Columbus, OH — Wednesday, August 16, 2023 For Immediate Release The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) announced that eleven schools have been named 2023 AMLE Schools of Distinction. The recipient schools are: Brambleton Middle School,  Ashburn, VA Farmwell Station Middle School, Ashburn, VA Gilbert Middle School, Gilbert, Iowa Kamehameha Schools, Kapālama, Hawai’i Mayfield Middle

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