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What's New?
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What's New?
The Web is always changing and evolving--new information is continually being added, new sites created, and new tools available. This is the spot for staying on top of this evolving world!
May 12, 1998
MIDDLE SCHOOL REFORMS
Middle schools face unique challenges in meeting the intellectual and social needs of their early adolescent student populations. Early adolescence is a developmental stage marked by rapid physical and social changes, and it signals the beginning among youth of the search for adult identity. Middle schools developed over the past three decades in an effort to re-design the junior high school and create learning environments that would foster positive growth and development during early adolescence. Middle school reforms have included, for example, new student advisement programs, alternative "block" scheduling arrangements, and schools-within-schools aimed at creating more personalized and engaging school experiences responsive to the needs of young adolescents.
Among the several influential reports that have contained significant middle school reform recommendations were Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century, by the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, and the National Middle School Association's This We Believe: Developmentally Responsive Middle Level Schools. Preliminary research results cited in these and other reports show that adolescents may achieve at higher levels and demonstrate higher levels of self-esteem in schools which implement comprehensive middle school reforms. This research suggests that successful practices in middle schools include: creating smaller, more personalized learning communities; delivering a rigorous core curriculum within a nurturing social environment; and providing middle school teachers with specialized training for addressing the needs of young adolescents.
What's New on the Net identifies reports, studies and resources on the World Wide Web related to reform initiatives in the middle grades. The links include analyses of middle school reform programs and discussions of the challenges of implementing such programs, as well as sites of professional associations concerned with middle school education.
Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century
This We Believe: Developmentally Responsive Middle Level Schools
Middle Web: Exploring Middle School Reform
The Middle School Information Center
A Teachers' Guide: Working with Young Adolescents
Center for Adolescent Studies
Harvard Education Letter: Middle Grades Reform
Phi Delta Kappan: Middle Grades
Through the Looking Glass: The Future of Middle School Reform
Great Transitions: Preparing Adolescents for a New Century
Key Characteristics of Middle Level Schools
Middle Schools with Exemplary Practices for LEP Students
Muddle in the Middle
A Crack in the Middle
Listservs for Middle School Educators
National Association of Secondary School Principals
California Department of Education: Middle Grades Division
National Middle School Association
Middle Level Student Activities Association
Middle School Partnership
April 1998 -- Class Size and Learning March 10, 1998 -- After-School Programs for School-Aged Children and Youth January 20, 1998 -- The Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Achieving Equality Within Diversity November 21, 1997 -- Fostering Literacy Throughout K-12 Education: Focus on Reading October 12, 1997 -- Net as a Resource for Helping Teachers in Their Classes Develop Homework Assignments September 25, 1997 -- Proposed National Tests in Reading and Mathematics August 18, 1997 -- Finding Lesson Plans on the Web July 10, 1997 -- Best Web Sites for K-12 Education April 16, 1997 -- Critical Thinking February 22, 1997 --The Internet and World Wide Web in K-12 Education December 19, 1996 --Multiple Intelligences Theory November 21, 1996 --Arts Education October 23, 1996 --Mathematics and Science Education September 18, 1996 --Principles of Motivation August 15, 1996 --Promoting Safe, Disciplined Schools July 16, 1996 --Addressing the Needs of Gifted and Talented Students. June 24, 1996 --Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) May 22, 1996 --Urban Schools and Disadvantaged Students May 1, 1996 --Educational Assessment Approaches April 17, 1996 --Diversity in The Nation's Classrooms April 3, 1996 --The 1996 National Education Summit: Education Standards March 22, 1996 --Reading and Writing Initiatives March 7, 1996 --Education, Motivation, and Life Success Feb. 21, 1996 --Technology and America's Schools Feb. 6, 1996 --Social Studies and Character Development
