In 2018 we published a chapter entitled "Middle Grades Schools and Structures" (Ellerbrock et al., 2018a) in "Literature Reviews in Support of the Middle Level Education Research Agenda" (Mertens et al., 2013). Building on the earlier work of Ellerbrock et al. (2018a), this chapter reviewed literature between 2000 and 2018 that…

The education of the young adolescent has consistently posed a challenge to the educational community. While the general belief is this age group (10 to 15 year-old children) would benefit from a specialized educational approach. Historically, both the junior high school model of the early 1900s and the more current middle school concept have…

The purpose of this study was to examine family engagement practices in a rural Midwestern middle school. Grounded in the National PTA Standards for Family-School Partnerships as a conceptual framework and utilizing the Comprehensive Rural Wealth Framework as a theoretical foundation, the study explored family engagement resources, student growth…

This article explores how TCTELA's 2024 Teachers of the Year forged the future through their literacy teaching at the elementary, middle school, high school, and college levels. Each essay captures how they understand their work as literacy educators and intentionally educate their students toward a brighter future amid trying local contexts. The…

Since the emergence of middle schools as distinct educational settings in the 1960s, proponents of the model have advocated for structures and approaches that best meet the particular developmental needs of young adolescents. Middle school researchers have developed frameworks of best practices for schools that have been widely, if not uniformly,…

This paper describes high quality teaching practices in two schools that produce exceptional growth for all kinds of students. These practices focus on making the most of instructional time and exposing students to high quality content in a variety of contexts. They prove teachers don't need to choose between differentiating to meet students'…

Discover the teaching practices that make the biggest difference in student performance! The new edition of this practical, research-based book gives leaders and teachers an even closer look at instructional practices from top award-winning urban schools. With refreshed examples from high-performing teachers and detailed analyses of these…

This article draws on the literature on effective African American teachers of African American students to investigate the enactments of culturally relevant critical teacher care (CRCTC) in two fifth-grade teachers' (one White and one Black) classrooms in a large, urban school district. Using interview and observation data, the findings…

This randomized controlled field trial examined the efficacy of the Responsive Classroom (RC) approach on student achievement. Schools (n = 24) were randomized into intervention and control conditions; 2,904 children were studied from end of second to fifth grade. Students at schools assigned to the RC condition did not outperform students at…

This report highlights the importance of addressing the unique set of needs of middle-level students. The struggle over structuring and content of middle-level education--the K-8 versus middle-school/junior-high argument--mirrors to a considerable extent the broader recurring battle of traditionalism versus progressivism. There are few empirical…