Successful Middle School Workshops

Saturday, November 9 | 9:45 – 11:45 am

We’re ending the conference with a bang this year! All AMLE24 attendees are invited to dig into three of the core components of the middle school model during Saturday’s Successful Middle School workshops. Workshops are included in AMLE24 attendee registration. Don’t miss out – we’ll be raffling books and a complimentary registrations to AMLE25 to some lucky attendees!

The Successful Middle School Advisory

with Dr. Todd Brist

One of the defining components of a middle school, separating it from junior high models, high schools, and elementary schools, is an intentional focus on both the academic and affective development of the whole child, specifically the social and emotional development needs unique to the young adolescent student. Enter the successful middle school advisory. In this workshop, Dr. Todd Brist, author of The Successful Middle School Advisory and AMLE Leadership Institute faculty members will explore advisory programming from design to execution and evaluation. Attendees will also hear mini-case studies from AMLE Schools of Distinction that are implementing innovative and effective advisories.

The Successful Middle School Schedule

with Dr. Laurie Barron

An effective and personalized middle school master schedule has a significant impact on student belonging, behavior, and achievement as well as teacher effectiveness, collaboration, and overall job satisfaction. In this workshop, Dr. Laurie Barron, author of The Successful Middle School: A Place to Belong and Become and AMLE Leadership Institute faculty member, will share key aspects and methods of developing a master schedule that meet the needs of young adolescents while also supporting teachers and staff to maximize positive impact. Attendees will also hear mini-case studies from AMLE Schools of Distinction that are implementing innovative and effective master schedules.

Successful Middle School Teaming

with Jack Berckemeyer

Since AMLE first published its landmark text on educating young adolescents more than forty years ago, teaming has emerged and continues to be validated as a core structure within a high-performing middle school. This author workshop will help schools explore how to create and sustain an impactful teaming process. Using his signature style, Jack identifies the 16 essential elements of teaming, exploring the what, why, and how of each. Attendees will also hear mini-case studies from AMLE Schools of Distinction that are implementing innovative and effective approaches to teaming.

Looking for other Successful Middle School topics? Check out these featured sessions on Thursday and Friday:

Belonging and Becoming – Critical Elements for Student Success
Laurie Barron and Patti Kinney
Belonging is positively associated with psychological, social, and academic functioning (Anderman, L., 1999, 2003; Allen & Bowles, 2012; Furrer and Skinner, 2003; O’Brien & Bowles, 2013; Romero, 2015; Wingspread, 2004). Becoming is more likely when students’ needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness are met (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Using innovative approaches, attendees will learn to implement reimagined learning approaches directly aligned with middle grades best practices.

Successful Middle School Instructional Technology
Ryan Ruggles and Tim Schigur
Does your school have a common technology vision? Does it embrace new technologies such as AI? Does it focus on human wellness? This session will assist educators and teams with the development of their educational technology “why”, leadership practices, and creating a system for school wide improvement. We will discuss how to actively prepare staff to implement instructional technology in meaningful ways that positively impact students academically, socially, and emotionally.

Successful Middle School Student Voice
Sandy Cameli
Cultivating student voice at the middle level empowers early adolescents to be self-directed learners who take ownership of their individual growth. Based on the “Successful Middle School: Student Voice” companion guide, this session will model how the VOICE acronym can provide a framework to elevate and celebrate student voice in various learning environments and experiences for students in grades 5th-9th.