There is a need now more than ever for professional development that emphasizes the middle grade philosophy, policies, and best practices.
1. Across the United States, many of our middle schools are not meeting their annual goals.
2. Middle schools have been called the “weak link” in education.
3. Annually, middle schools are identified as “need improvement” more often than elementary or high schools.
4. The majority of students taking high stakes tests are in the middle grades.
5. Many middle school leaders and educators do not have a good understanding of adolescent behavior.
6. Most educators teaching middle grades have a background in elementary or secondary education.
7. Most institutional programs do not offer credentials for teaching middle grades. (Subject areas are only emphasized!)
8. The U.S. Department of Education has attempted to reform elementary schools through various early literacy programs. High schools have drop-out prevention and job training programs. There has not been any uniformity ever established in the middle grades.
Every middle school educator and leader should know something about William Alexander. He has been called the “father of the American middle school” and he first used the term “middle school” in 1963 while speaking at Cornell University. The term “middle school” means more than just grade configurations such as 5th-8th, 6th-8th, or K-8th. The middle school movement that began in the early 1960’s was meant to establish an appropriate and effective education for young adolescents. Over 50 years later and the struggle continues today in an effort to effectively reach and teach America’s adolescents.
