The Avon Grove School District has a middle school orientation program for incoming elementary students and their parents, which consists of several visits and open houses in the Spring and at the beginning of the Fall term. (SJL)

These workshop materials are the guidelines Broward County (Florida) has established to carry out the state legislative mandate authorizing school boards to establish educational alternative programs to meet the individual needs and interests of students who are disruptive, unsucessful, or disinterested in the normal school environment. Included…

Recognizing the need for opportunities for children to interact meaningfully with older adults, this fastback discusses the organization and implementation of intergenerational programs in elementary and middle schools. It begins with a description of effective programs, focusing on the impact of two programs on students and older adults. The…

Middle level program planning involves three phases over three years: developing a written school philosophy, designing the curricular program, and implementing the plan to meet objectives. (Author/DCS)

Advisory groups have played an essential role in improving the school climate and conditions for young adolescents in schools. How middle school decision makers go about the process of designing or re-designing an advisory program needs to be considered. A discussion is presented of the background information that helps define advisories. It…

Reports on "Writing Day at Barnes," an intermediate school program implemented to introduce writing skills in every subject area. Presents an overview of teacher training, program framework, sample lesson plans, and guidelines for developing similar programs which focus on the improvement and reinforcement of specific writing expression…

This monograph offers middle grades educators recommendations for increasing the involvement of family members in school-related programs and activities. Introductory material describes the earlier work of the National Middle School Association in fostering parent involvement. Next, the monograph describes reasons for encouraging such involvement,…

This monograph offers suggestions to teachers and administrators for involving parents in middle school programs. It outlines the reasons for encouraging such involvement, identifies some of the roles parents may play, and delineates the steps to be taken in establishing a program that taps the time and talents of parents and other adults.…

This document is a manual for training personnel working with programs in the New York State Mentoring Program (NYSMP), which promotes mentoring as a way of motivating children to stay in school and make successful transitions to adulthood. Section 1 treats the state program's operating structure, covering general broad objectives, a mentoring…

A project to develop an explicit model of sheltered instruction that teachers can use to improve the academic success of their limited-English-proficient (LEP) students is described, focusing on the development of an observation tool for use in the study. The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) provides concrete examples of the…

This pamphlet discusses the benefits of using the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) for providing numerous enrichment and acceleration alternatives that are designed to accommodate the academic strengths, interests, and learning styles of all middle school students, including gifted students. It explains the different components of SEM including…

Designed to help teachers promote a teacher-parent partnership process, this manual describes the Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS) program in language arts, science, and health. The manual covers the TIPS Interactive Homework Process, focusing on overcoming obstacles, TIPS activities, the process of informing parents, and students'…

This volume makes two important contributions: First, it provides a framework grounded in theory and best professional practice that middle and high school teachers, their students, and community partners can use to design, implement, and evaluate service-learning projects that address authentic community needs. Second, it demonstrates ways…

This guide is the third publication in a series designed to help school districts in North Carolina implement effective second language programs in the middle grades, building on existing elementary programs and connecting with established secondary school programs. The guide first explains the rationale for including second languages in the…

The training manual is designed to accompany "The Story of California," a set of bilingual instructional materials for limited-English-proficient, native Spanish-speaking students in urban middle schools intended to ease their transition into comfortable use of English while maintaining Spanish language skills. The manual is to be used…