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What's New with the
Forum: Archives.
December 2005.
2006 Schools to Watch Annual Conference
The Schools to Watch National Conference brings together achievement-oriented educators. This conference offers an excellent opportunity for companies that provide services and products to the nation’s high performing, middle-grades schools. School site leaders voluntarily choose to participate in rigorous Schools to Watch school improvement programs. As a result, conference participants are unusually focused on educational excellence and beating AYP. In other words, they are prime candidates for educational vendors. Download the exhibitor brochure here.
September 2005.
Working with Latino Parents
www.palmsproject.net
The PALMS (Postsecondary Access for Latino Middle-Grades Students) Project has just published the findings of its year-long study on effective parent outreach strategies. After conducting interviews with several college access programs across the country, PALMS identified five strategies that are particularly effective in bridging the distance between Latino parents and middle-grades schools. Visit the "Reaching Parents" section to read vignettes describing the strategies in action. The website also includes a comprehensive review of research pertaining to Latino parent involvement.
September 2005.
2005-2006 Request for Schools to Watch State Applications available.
Click here to download the 2005-2006 request for applications.
June 2005.
2005 Schools to Watch Conference Material
May 2005. Download the 2005 Schools to Watch Abridged Program.
April 2005.
Push to merge schools an unproven experiment.
Some urban districts combine middle and high schools, as Portland is considering at Jefferson High, but the benefits are unclear. More here...
Middle school teachers try new; Research shows hands-on learning helps kids, so instructors are getting creative.
More here...
February 2005.
High Performance Middle Grades Annual Conference.
June 9-11, 2005. Arlington VA. Download the Annual Conference brochure here.
If you are an exhibitor at the Schools to Watch Conference, click here.
Janurary 2005.
National Schools to Watch 2005 Conference - Save the Date!
June 9 - 11th, Arlington, Virginia. What does it take to become a high-performing middle school? How can your school meet or beat AYP? Take part in this exciting opportunity. Schools to Watch sites across the nation support diverse students' healthy development and raise their academic achievement. Learn how it can happen at your school. Download the flyer here.
November 2004. The National Forum, together with the Center for Prevention Research and Development and the Illinois Board of Higher Education, is co-sponsoring a December 6-7 symposium, "Lessons in the Middle Grades: Research, Policy, and Practice in Today's World." This national conference will review what research has taught us about early adolescent learners and frame the issues affecting successful student achievement. Kati Haycock, director of the Education Trust, will be the keynote speaker for this Chicago-based event. For more information, download the symposium invitation in PDF.
June 2004. The National Forum has released the fourth in a series of policy statements addressing issues of importance in middle-grades education. Read "Small Schools and Small Learning Communities" (also available in PDF).
April 2004. Several members of the National Forum are meeting with Senators from both sides of the aisle to educate them about the importance of middle-grades reform. This informational session which is being sponsored by Senator Gregg's and Senator Kennedy's offices is taking place on April 23rd. Click on this link to download the slides that will be presented.
March 2004. With several cities (e.g., New York City, Baltimore, Cincinnati, New Orleans) considering grade configuration of their middle schools, the Forum has weighed in with several Letters to the Editor. Read letters we have written in support of focusing less on how a school is configured, and more on what goes on inside the classroom walls. Read letters to the editor submitted to the Times Picayune, New York Times, and Newsday in pdf format.
February 2004. Five of the seven states implementing the National Forum's Schools to Watch (STW) program have announced several new schools that have received the STW designation. All together, California, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina selected 18 middle-grades schools that meet the Forum's criteria for academic excellence, responsiveness to the needs of young adolescents, and social equity. Illinois and Virginia are in the process of making their final STW selections. Read more about the program.
November 2003. Twenty members of the National Forum delivered major presentations at the National Middle School Association annual conference in Atlanta, on such topics as Schools to Watch, leadership for middle-grades reform, comprehensive school improvement, social equity, teacher preparation, and advocacy. The conference drew thousands of middle-grades teachers, administrators, researchers, and teacher educators from all across the country.
September 2003. The Forum announces the availability of its Leadership Training modules for middle-grades practitioners. This 5-module program may be ordered from the Forum or co-sponsors NMSA, NAESP, NASSP, or NSDC. Read the news release about this exciting new resource.
June
2003. This
month the U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution
regarding the urgent need for changes in America's middle
and high schools. This resolution can be used with policymakers
and in middle-grades advocacy. Read
this important resolution.
June
2003. The
Southern Forum, a National Forum affiliate, has launched
its own web site. The new site features background,
information, and the latest news about all of the southern
states actively engaged in middle-grades reform. Visit
the new site to learn more.
June
2003. A
new report is released highlighting the success of middle-grades
reform funding. The report, prepared for Grantmakers
for Education by Kronley & Associates, found that
investments in middle grade schools and students have
paid big dividends. The report, which had high praise
for the National Forum, analyzed the financial investment
in middle grades reform by four leading philanthropic
organizations. It found that investment to date has
resulted in improved performance, higher test scores,
and more effective preparation for high school and beyond.
Read the report, "Maturing
Investments: Philanthropy and Middle-Grades Reform."
May
2003.
Four additional states have been selected for the 2003
state Schools to Watch program. In
its continuing effort to replicate the programs and
practices of outstanding middle schools, the National
Forum selected Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, and Virginia
to participate in the Schools to Watch program. Read
a news
release about the state selections.
March
2003. John
Harrison, executive director of the North Carolina Middle
School Association, has been selected to lead the Southern
Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform. Read Harrison's
plans for this 10-state reform effort in the news
release announcing his selection.
Febuary 2003.
The three states working with the National Forum to
identify Schools to Watch have announced their selections.
Ten exemplary middle-grades schools have been found
to meet the Forum's strict criteria for excellence.
Each has earned the designation "Schools to Watch."
Read
the Forum's news release which names the schools
in California, Georgia, and North Carolina.
October 2002.
Another
National Forum 'School to Watch' is selected as a National
Blue Ribbon School. The U.S. Dept. of Education has
selected the Texas-based Freeport Intermediate School
for the honor in recognition of its outstanding record
of student achievement and community support, and its
culture of promoting active teaching and learning. Freeport
is the second of four Schools to Watch to be selected
as a Blue Ribbon School. Previously honored was Jefferson
Middle School in Champaign, Illinois.
July 2002.
The
National Forum has released its policy
statement on high-stakes testing. The statement
supports the use of multiple measures, rather than a
single test, to make decisions about a student's progress.
Read the press
release in PDF.
July 2002.The
National Forum has named Deborah Kasak as its new executive
director. Read the press
release in PDF.
May 2002. The
National Forum has selected three states to expand the
reach and impact of the acclaimed "Schools to Watch"
recognition program. The Forum will train teams of state
leaders to implement Schools to Watch in California,
Georgia, and North Carolina. The three states were chosen
after a competitive selection process in which teams
from each state demonstrated the capacity, commitment,
and vision to partner with the Forum in the implementation
of the program. Read
more.
April 2002. The
National Forum has released its second policy statement,
"Teacher
Preparation, Licensure, and Recruitment." The
statement calls for the specialized preparation of middle-grades
educators at both the pre-service and graduate levels,
and it describes the essential elements of a middle-level
teacher preparation program. It also makes a strong
case for mandating that teachers who teach at the middle
level hold a middle-level teaching certificate. Read
the press release in PDF.
February 2002. The
Schools to Watch Web site received an award from the
Eisenhower National Clearinghouse (ENC). ENC selected
the Web site for inclusion in its Digital Dozen for
the month of February. The monthly Digital Dozen list
highlights "exemplary websites [that] support school
improvement efforts and have useful multimedia features
or helpful navigation." ENC publishes the list to help
serve math and science educators across the country.
View
this month's list.
October
2001. Several
National Forum members attended the first conference
organized and sponsored by the New York City Forum to
Accelerate Middle Grades Reform, "Achieving Academic
Success in Middle-Grades Education: Current Research,
Practice and Leadership Issues" on October 26, 2001.
Approximately 250 educators, in teams from each of New
York City's community school districts, attended the
conference. Forum member Hayes Mizell, Director of the
Program for Student Achievement at the Edna McConnell
Clark Foundation, was one of the main speakers. His
speech, Charting
a New Course for Middle Grades Reform, is available
as a PDF download.
July
2001.
The
National Forum launches a new web site for visitors
to take on-line tours of the middle-level schools selected
by the Forum as National "Schools to Watch."
The new web site, http://www.schoolstowatch.org,
features background information about the schools, criteria
for their selection, and their many innovative programs
and practices that may be replicated in middle schools
across the country.
March 2001. Forum members are disseminating the newly-released
Forum policy statement on student assignment and
ability grouping. Members are giving presentations at
key meetings and national conferences this spring, and
distributing the statement to colleagues and schools
and school districts within their many networks.
The policy statement has been endorsed by the National
Middle School Association and by the Prichard Committee
for Academic Excellence. Other association members are
presenting the statement to their boards for action
this spring.
An article
about the statement has been published in Education
Week and will soon appear in newsletters, other materials,
and web sites published by Forum members.
Arichive
of Newsletters:
Below
you will find an archive of our past newsletters which
covers the time period from winter 2000 to the fall
of 2002.
| Newsletter |
|
Text |
| Volume
3, Issue 11 (Fall 2002) |
Fall2002.pdf |
Fall
2002 |
| Volume
3, Issue 10 (Summer 2002) |
Summer2002.pdf |
Summer
2002 |
| Volume
3, Issue 9 (Winter 2002) |
Winter2002.pdf |
Winter
2002 |
Volume
2, Issue 8 (Fall 2001)
|
Fall2001.pdf |
Fall
2001 |
Volume
2, Issue 7 (Summer 2001)
|
Summer2001.pdf |
Summer
2001 |
Volume
2, Issue 6 (Spring 2001)
|
Spring2001.pdf |
Spring
2001 |
Volume
2, Issue 5 (Winter 2001)
|
Winter2001.pdf |
Winter
2001 |
Volume
1, Issue 4 (Fall 2000)
|
Fall2000.pdf
|
Fall
2000 |
Volume
1, Issue 3 (Summer 2000)
|
Summer2000.pdf |
Summer
2000 |
| Volume
1, Issue 2
(Spring 2000) |
Spring2000.pdf |
Spring
2000 |
| Volume
1, Issue 1
(Winter 2000) |
Winter2000.pdf |
Winter
2000 |
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