Judith L. Irvin

Transition from Middle School into High School

I urge the next generation of middle school educators to help save the ninth grade. The middle school concept has, too often, not been able to fulfill its announced intention to make the transition to high school a smooth and successful experience. In fact, the transition to high school has never been more treacherous nor the consequences more personally disastrous for so many. All over America, thousands and thousands of ninth graders are and have been painfully failing. ... We can no longer allow all the good work you do in middle schools to evaporate in the first six weeks of high school. (George, 1999)

Differing Perspectives, Common Ground: The Middle School and Gifted Education Relationship. What Research Says.

Middle school educators and advocates for the gifted share much common ground for addressing the needs of a wide variety of learners: flexible pacing, independent study, and teaching thinking skills.

Does it Work

Active sampling and humidity compensation Like all Aeroqual sensor heads the PM sensor head has an in-built fan to ensure a stable and precise flow of sample air to the sensor. The sensor head also compensates for humidity by way of an on-board humidity sensor. In humid conditions light scattering sensors are likely to read high because moisture surrounds particles, causing them to appear ‘bigger’. The humidity compensation feature reduces this effect on the measurement.

The Relation between Professional Climate and Student Learning Depends on the Way a School Treats Teachers

reported some of the findings from an extensive research study by Langer (2000, 2001, 2002), director of the National Research Center on English Learning & Achievement. In that column, the focus was on research-based instructional strategies that are effective in boosting students’ literacy achievement. Langer’s study compared student literacy achievement across three groups of teachers—effective teachers in effective schools; effective teachers in typical schools; and typical teachers in typical schools. Effective schools and teachers are those whose students “beat the odds” to higher literacy achievement than their demographically similar peers in the comparison schools. As part of this study, Langer also investigated the working conditions, or professional climate, within which the teachers worked and found that the effective schools shared some common characteristics. In general, the students who outperformed their peers on high stakes tests were in schools that nurtured a professional climate for their teachers by: • Orchestrating a shared vision for student achievement and a plan to get there

Positive Self-Esteem and Learning in Early Adolescence

Cognitive learning is hard won by someone whose life is in affective disarray! At the very heart of those affective concerns is the development of clear self concept and positive self-esteem. These dimen sions of self represent the central feature of the human personality which in the case of young ado lescents unifies the physical, social, and cognitive characteristics into a sense of identity, adequacy, and affirmation. From an under standing of self springs a host of other variables such as behavior, motivation, and the perception of others.

Reform Efforts in Florida's Middle Level Schools: Shifting from Mandate to Accountability Through Deregulation

AbstractOver the past two decades, Florida has made various statewide attempts to implement the middle school concept. In the early 1970s, some school districts began reorganizing its schools. The PRIME (Progress in Middle Childhood Education) was passed in 1984 and funded in 1985. This legislation mandated some programs and practices normally associated with the middle school concept and encouraged others through special funds. In 1991, PRIME legislation was placed in abeyance and Accountability/Blueprint 2000 legislation now stipulates site-based management and accountability. This evolutionary cycle of middle school programs and policies is the basis of this research project.Data documenting the impact of PRIME legislation during the years 1984–1989 served as a beginning point to this study. The four research questions that guided this study focused on the overall impact of PRIME legislation and categoricalfunding on middle level schools in Florida, the conditions of implementation that lead to institu...