Staff development is the key to middle school effectiveness, and this article lists characteristics of an effective staff development program, examples of activities and topics, and questions for program evaluation. (DCS)

Tips are offered on how to ease the transition of students from elementary to middle level or junior high schools. A teacher-advisor program is proposed, and staff development modules are suggested to help teachers assist students in the transition process. (TE)

Argues that providing leadership and opportunities for staff members to become more effective in their jobs are the primary responsibilities of a school principal. Offers a number of suggestions for use in staff development. (FL)

Principals can help at-risk students in the middle school by identifying them early; scheduling them with counselors and teachers who can meet their needs; keeping in close contact with teachers about student grades; and offering opportunities for academic success. Finally, the entire staff must support the philosophy that failure is not an…

Intended for practitioners, this book's major purpose is to reaffirm the unique and integral roles reading and literacy play in middle school curriculum and instruction. The book emphasizes: (1) the research-based rationale for what educators teach in reading and how it is taught; (2) an integration of reading with writing; (3) an acknowledgement…

This document is part of a second set of reports that focus on science and mathematics education for young adolescents. It addresses the salient issues of improving middle grade science education, emphasizing the importance of the teacher as learner and facilitator. If overall improvement is indeed to occur, the various parts of the system must…

This paper presents organizational strategies and implementation methods for conversion to middle school organization (scheduled to take place in 1988) in the Johnson City, Tennessee, school system. Carried out by the district in partnership with local institutions of higher education, the study focuses on what is educationally best for the child…

This handbook, which is one in a series of handbooks designed to help tech prep practitioners replicate successful materials, projects, or programs that have been developed by Partnership for Academic and Career Education (PACE) consortium members, explains how to develop career awareness programs for tech prep students. The introduction contains…

Principals from the 1991-1992 Blue Ribbon Schools--those schools selected by the U.S. Department of Education that have demonstrated an unusual ability to create an atmosphere that promotes learning for "everyone"--were asked to share a "best idea" that they had put into practice in their schools. Selected from over 100 submissions, the "best…

This book presents suggestions, organized by categories of eduational concerns, that many principals have used to prepare students for the 21st century. Principals of the 1993-94 Blue Ribbon Scools--those schools selected by the U.S. Department of Education as outstanding elementary and middle schools--were asked to share a "best idea" that they…

The Middle Grades Mathematics Project (MGMP) has been an effort to produce exemplary mathematics curriculum units for grades six, seven, and eight, evaluate the compatibility of those units in classrooms, and to study the nature of the effort needed to help teachers to teach the units effectively in their classrooms. Each activity designed by MGMP…

Reflecting four years of work with teachers and students in culturally and linguistically diverse classroom settings, this book discusses theoretical and practical issues surrounding the development of literacy in multicultural K-8 classrooms. Emerging from a longitudinal study implemented in three school districts, the book integrates the…

A study was conducted to provide a current data profile on Georgia's middle grade schools that could serve as a baseline for periodic reassessments of the state's middle grade schools. A 19-item questionnaire was mailed to Georgia's 284 public middle grade schools in October 1990, requesting information on administration organization; grade…

This evaluation report describes the Quality Improvement Program Plan for Special Educators (QUIPP) which provides supplemental professional development opportunities for New York City special education professionals and paraprofessionals at the elementary, middle, and intermediate/junior high school levels. The program stresses design of the…

Twenty-five outstanding middle grade mathematics teachers were selected by the staff of the Middle Grades Mathematics Project (MGMP) at Michigan State University to participate in an Honors Teacher Workshop during the summer of 1987. During the final week of the encounter, 50 colleagues joined the workshop. The participants came from 20 different…