This fourth book in the Marzano Academies series focuses on secondary school leadership for competency-based education. The beauty of the framework, however, is that any leader seeking guidance on innovative, equitable, and effective practices can use this book as a blueprint for positive change. This is your blueprint for how you, as a secondary…

Purpose: School improvement planning has been a central part of school improvement initiatives for decades. Evidence suggests, however, that traditional planning processes are regularly superficial. In the USA, some principals have begun developing short-cycle planning designed to encourage school leadership teams and staff to develop, monitor and…

A case study was implemented in one rural district as it transitioned to a trauma-informed environment. A theoretical framework based on the literature framed the data collection around the seven themes of awareness, positive culture, intentional instruction, restorative practice, self-care, mental health support services, and professional…

In 2011, the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) and the City Council's Middle School Taskforce launched the Middle School Quality Initiative (MSQI) as an instructional intervention for improving literacy levels in the lowest performing middle schools in New York City. The initiative grew rapidly and now serves over 100 schools and…

The Association for Middle Level Education advocates for instruction that incorporates active learning and multiple learning approaches in middle grades classrooms. The aim of this qualitative study was to examine middle level teachers who are able to implement active learning and multiple learning approaches within the standardized testing and…

This work highlights a heuristic model for professional learning while examining the implementation of a reform initiative. The researchers used longitudinal data collected from surveys to develop and fit a model of professional learning where patterns of interaction among teachers changed the discussion about English learner instruction. Data…

Educators can implement strategies to build positive relationships with students that will help them become more autonomous and less anonymous in school. These strategies allow young adolescents to become more self aware, to take greater responsibility for their actions, to reflect on their own lives and actions, and to have choices regarding…

A nonconcurrent multiple baseline across 3 middle schools was used to assess the impact that teaching all students to follow the" Bullying and Harassment Prevention in Positive Behavior Support: Expect Respect" intervention had on bullying behaviors. The 3 schools were using School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports and…

During an evaluation of a new middle grades reform initiative, the program participants (i.e., teachers, coaches, and principals) reported they perceived that students' social and emotional needs interfaced with implementation of the reform. In particular, participants perceived that students' need for a safe, supportive, and engaging environment…

For a school improvement initiative to succeed, education leaders must do more than adopt a new program and train staff. This issue of "SEDL Insights" explores steps that leaders can take to ensure the successful implementation of a new program or practice.

Secondary school administrators are increasingly finding themselves in the position of implementing Response to Intervention (RTI). This system of providing progressively intensive levels of intervention for the purposes of preventing academic failure and identifying children with learning disability may be useful at the secondary level. However,…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of an Australian health promoting schools (HPS) project to identify key features of the concept of resilience and how it can be used in a school setting to develop and strengthen protective factors in young people, as a mechanism for improving social functioning and reducing involvement in…

Research suggests that Project-Based Learning (PBL) can be an effective way to engage and motivate middle level learners. Thoughtfully designed and implemented PBL can be more effective than traditional instruction for teaching concept mastery in core academic disciplines, supporting long-term knowledge retention, improving mastery of 21st century…

The College and Career Readiness Standards, referred to as the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) in New York City, are increasingly the focus of educational reform efforts across the United States. Each year for the past several years, the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) has created a set of focusing expectations for schools in…

While a number of studies have yielded useful information regarding the status of middle level schools in the United States, four linked national surveys provide a longitudinal perspective on the degree of implementation of key middle grades programs and practices. These studies were conducted in 1968 (Alexander, 1968), 1988 (Alexander &…