A companion report provided a summary of what was learned from surveys of principals and staff developers about the newly created position of staff developer in the middle schools of the San Diego City Schools, California. This study investigated the spring followup study that asked teachers what they thought about the new position and the work of…

As part of a school reform program, focused initially on literacy the San Diego City Schools decided to create the position of school-based staff developer. Creating this position proved to be a daunting challenge, with considerable disagreement between the union and the school district. Data were collected about the early implementation of the…

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)

Describes a 15-hour staff development training program on using cooperative learning strategies in middle school classrooms and evaluates subsequent implementation of these strategies. Initial parental and teacher concerns included grading procedures, group composition and membership, and classroom arrangements and constraints. After the training…

This report presents the evaluation of the 1973-1974 Fall River Middle School Research and Development Center, a project funded by ESEA Title VII as a model demonstration bilingual program beginning in 1972-1973. The evaluation focused on the assessment of the degree of accomplishment of product objectives for each component of the program. The…

Using a symbolic interactionism theoretical perspective, this project examined the merits of team collaborative action research as a tool in comprehensive staff development for middle- grade teachers. The specific question examined during the action research was how inclusion of special needs students affects the academic and social achievement of…

This study provides a data profile on Vermont's middle level schools and draws several comparisons between these data and those collected in a similar study conducted in 1980. Section One reports the current data from surveyed principals. Section Two offers several comparisons between 1980 and 1989 data. Section Three draws conclusions and offers…

This report is divided into five major components. Part 1 contains a brief description of middle schools as they have developed throughout the U.S. since the beginning of this century. Part 2 reviews the history of middle schools as they have evolved in the Seattle School District. Emphasis is placed on the role that the district's mandatory and…

In 1988, the Jefferson County Public Schools, in Louisville (Kentucky), received an initial planning grant from the Program for Student Achievement of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation to focus on three "highs" in education--high content, high expectations, and high support. The school district chose three middle schools to participate…

This report describes the first year of a 3-year transitional bilingual program for Chinese, Japanese and Korean middle school students in the Torrance Unified School District. The program focused on four specific areas: student instruction, staff development, materials, and parent involvement/education. Project students, once identified, were…

An external evaluation of the Torrance (California) Unified School District's transitional bilingual education program for limited-English-speaking Chinese, Japanese, and Korean middle school students is reported. The project focused on four areas including: instruction; staff development, materials, and parent involvement and education. An…

Title VII Special Alternatives was an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title VII-funded project in its fourth year of operation in 1994-94. The project served 151 middle school students of limited English proficiency in four schools in Brooklyn (New York). More than 10 native languages were represented. Participating students received…

In the Orange County (Florida) Public Schools, an evaluation was conducted of career education provided in elementary schools and secondary schools. A kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) Career Education District Articulation Plan provides objectives for every grade level. Ideally, career education is infused into the regular and special…

With funds received under the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter 2, the Computer Discretionary Grant was designed to train Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) School District teachers in personal computer operations. Teams comprised of middle and junior high school teachers were allowed to enroll in the staff development program.…

The Comprehensive and Cognitive Development (CCD) Program of the Kansas City (Missouri) School District has completed its sixth year of operation. The CCD Program supports the integration of assessment with instructional strategies to increase the reading comprehension and cognitive skills of middle school and senior high school students. Staff…