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National
Forum Resource Directory
The
following is a list of important resources on middle-grades
reform. This list will continue to grow and change.
If you would like to recommend additional resources,
please contact us.
2003
Publications
Two new reports examine recent
reform efforts in urban middle-grades schools. "Standards-Based
Middle Grades Reform in Six Urban Districts, 1995-2001:
A Report on the Program for Student Achievement of the
Edna McConnell Clark Foundation" is
a 2003 report by Anne Mackinnon which documents both
successes and shortcomings of that program. Another
report, "A
Web of Support: The Role of Districts in Urban Middle-Grades
Reform," by Michelle Feist, presents
strategies for implementing reform, drawing on the experiences
of 50 district administrators from 35 urban districts
who took part in the Urban Middle-Grades Reform Network.
The reports are for foundations, district officials,
educators, policymakers, researchers, and others interested
in learning about the challenges of using academic standards
to improve student achievement.
No
Child Left Behind: What's in it for Parents?
What does the No Child Left Behind law mean for families?
The law gives parents a lot of leverage, but only if
they know how to use it. Parent Leadership Associates
(PLA) offers this useful new guide which lays out the
law in a reader-friendly way and identifies six key
leverage points parents can use to make sure their kids
benefit. For each leverage point, the guide explains
what the law says, and suggests questions to ask and
specific steps to take. Copies are available for $15
by contacting PLA at 859-233-9849 or www.plassociates.org.
Transforming
Practice: The Middle Grades is
a multimedia CD-ROM designed to enhance the professional
development of middle grades educators. It explore the
unique needs of the young adolescent, develops awareness
of the national middle school reform movements, examines
the components of high-performing schools, investigates
exemplars of standards-based integrated instruction,
and identifies components that support instructional
change.
Shooting
for the Sun: The Message of Middle School Reform,
a collection of speeches and essays on
improving student academic performance in the middle
grades, is now available from the Edna McConnell Clark
Foundation. The featured works, all written by Forum
member Hayes Mizell, director of the Foundation's Student
Achievement Program, discusses the challenges that teachers
and principals face in their work to improve student
achievement in grades six through eight.
Opportunities
and Accountability to Leave No Child Behind in the Middle
Grades: An Examination of the No Child Left Behind Act
of 2001 (Clicking
on this link begins a PDF download). The Edna McConnell
Clark Foundation commissioned author Cindy Brown to
analyze the impact that the No Child Left Behind Act
of 2001 will have on American education. "The report
focuses on the opportunities and challenges that middle
schools will be facing, in light of this new legislation,
to improve the learning environment for their students,
classroom practices, school climate, and student outcomes."
Four
Important Lessons About Teacher Professional Development
Based on Mid South Middle Start Self-Study data, this
article focuses on an analysis of the 2000/01 teacher
professional development data. This reasearch paper
written by Steven Mertens, Nancy Flowers, and Peter
Mulhall appeared in the May 2002 issue of the Middle
School Journal (published by NMSA).
2001
Publications
How
Familiar are Parents with Middle Level Practices
(Clicking
on this link begins a PDF download). Based on Mid South
Middle Start Self-Study data, researchers Steven Mertens,
Nancy Flowers, and Peter Mulhall focus on an analysis
of the 1999/2000 Mid South parent survey data. This
article was published in the November 2001 issue of
the Middle School Journal (published by NMSA).
Beyond
Blame: Reacting to the Terrorist Attack
a
free, 25-page curriculum for middle and high school
students published by Education Development Center.
(Clicking on this link begins a PDF download).The curriculum
was developed in response to the September 11th tragedy
and subsequent attacks on Arab-Americans. The curriculum,
co-sponsored by The Justice Project and the Vietnam
Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF), focuses on issues
of justice, fairness, and mislaid blame. It is available
as a PDF download. Print copies can be requested by
contacting BeyondBlame@edc.org.
School
Size Matters in Interesting Ways (Clicking
on this link begins a PDF download). As part of the
Middle School Journal's focus on middle school
renewal, researchers Steven Mertens, Nancy Flowers,
and Peter Mulhall discuss the impact of school size
on interdisciplinary teaming, classroom practices, school
climate, and student outcomes.
Safe
To Be Smart: A Middle-Grades Study Guide (Clicking
this link begins a PDF download).
Anne Wheelock's 1998 book, "Safe to Be Smart: Building
a Culture for Standards-Based Reform in the Middle Grades,"
now has a study guide, available free at the National
Middle School Association website. Developed by past
NMSA president Fran Salyers, the guide is designed to
help schools and teams "mine the riches" of Wheelock's
work, which explores the uses and abuses of standards-based
reform and provides suggestions for developing a standards-baed
school and classroom. Wheelock's book can be ordered
at the NMSA site.
2000
Publications
Turning
Points 2000: Educating Adolescents in the 21st Century
by Anthony Jackson and Gayle
Davis. this updated report of Carnegie Corporation of
New York is published by Teachers College Press and co-published
and distributed with the National
Association of Secondary School Principals and the
National
Middle School Association. To order Turning Points
2000, contact Teachers
College Press at (800) 575-6566.
Turning Points 2000 Resources available through
this site:
National
Conference on Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
in the Middle Grades: Linking Research and Practice.
Proceedings of the July 24-25 conference sponsored
by the U. S. Department of Education, National Educational
Research Policy and Priorities Board.
How
to Improve Middle Grades Achievement. In a series
of reports, the Southern Regional Education Board has
identified problems that help explain the pattern of
lagging performance among middle grades students in
the region's 16 states. This final report, "Leading
the Way: State Actions to Improve Student Achievement
in the Middle Grades," sets out a framework for policies
and actions that can alter that discouraging pattern.
Complete report available at website, including 13 recommendations
for state and district action that are pertinent to
all states and school systems. Links to first three
reports also available.
1999
Publications
What
Works in the Middle: Results-Based Staff Development
This guidebook identifies 26 programs in English,
math, science, social studies and interdisciplinary
studies that have led to measurable learning gains.
The product of a two-year study led by the National
Staff Development Council (NSDC) with participation
of national content area and secondary school groups
-- and supported by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.
What's
Missing in Middle Grades Standards-Based Reform? Standards-based
reform is doomed to failure, says the National Dropout
Prevention Center, unless states use their newly established,
more rigorous standards to develop interventions that
provide teachers with the skills and knowledge required
to teach to the higher standards and students with additional
opportunities to achieve the higher standards. This
article synthesizes information from a variety of sources.
The Center is supported in this work by a middle grades
reform grant from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.
The
Middle School Movement. . .Thirty and Counting
During the past three decades, writes middle grades
reformer Hayes Mizell, "there has been a lot of loose
talk about middle schools being 'student-centered.'
If middle schools had truly been student-centered there
would be more impressive evidence of student performance
than is currently the case. In fact, most middle schools
have been more adult-centered than anything else. It
is, after all, the adults in the schools who have been
the most resistant to change and who have been inclined
to expect so little of themselves and their students."
Figuring
It Out: Standards-Based Reforms in Urban Middle Grades
by Anne C. Lewis. This book reports on key elements
of success at six urban middle-grades school districts
that are part of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation's
Program for Student Achievement. It includes different
approaches to standards, compelling classroom stories,
obstacles, as well as recommendations for moving forward.
Published by Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, 250 Park
Avenue, NY, NY 10177.
1998
Publications
Safe
To Be Smart: Building a Culture for Standards-Based
Reform in the Middle Grades Published by the National
Middle Schools Association in November 1998, Anne Wheelock's
200-page book describes the promises and pitfalls of
the academic standards movement, with a middle grades
focus. While she agrees that standards can help shape
better teaching for all students, she warns that without
careful attention to professional development and the
impact of a school's "culture" on change efforts, standards
could further penalize students who are already overlooked
and underserved. Foreword by M. Hayes Mizell. Also see
Wheelock's Is Your School Ready for Standards-Based
Reform?
1997
Publications
Speaking
with One Voice - A foursome of school reformers
with foundation backgrounds nail their statement of
principles to the schoolhouse door in this KAPPAN piece
subtitled: "A Manifesto for Middle-Grades Reform."
Phi
Delta Kappan 5-Foot Bookshelf
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