School Culture/Climate

Collaboration and Connections: How to Transform the School Library into a Vibrant Learning Hub

The middle school library is an evolving space. What was once consistently a quiet space for reading has changed into a versatile space with a variety of functions, depending on the school. The Library Learning Commons at Scotts Ridge Middle School demonstrates how this evolution can create a library that serves as a hub of

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It’s The Holiday Season, So Whoop-De-Do: Managing the Holiday Madness

The holiday season is upon us and that can mean madness in our classrooms. Why is that? The truth is, we are often the primary culprit of the chaos. We spend months tirelessly pre-teaching routines and procedures and establishing behavior expectations, only to ease up on them or even abandon them during the holiday season.

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How We Used the Changing By the Minute Documentary for Powerful Professional Development

These are challenging times in education, and middle school educators are looking for encouragement and inspiration about how to best engage this unique age group. Enter the amazing, uplifting, and sometimes provocative documentary Changing by the Minute which captures one school’s remarkable and memorable efforts to help young adolescents thrive. The Center School (the public

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From Home Visits to Parent Academies: Transforming Engagement in Middle Level Education

There’s an age-old adage: “It takes a village to raise a child.” As a middle school teacher, I have always believed in this philosophy but often felt limited to the four walls of the classroom. Making home visits was never on my radar until a fateful day when my multilingual skills became indispensable for a

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Onboarding Middle School Families: A seat for everyone at the table

“It’s my child’s first day of middle school, now what?”  Parents and guardians across the country are grappling with this transition from child to young adolescent and navigating their role in school and daily life.  Although direct parent/guardian involvement often takes a back seat once students enter the middle grades, young people still need that

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