Middle Level Innovation Coordinator Barbara Mason, along with Middle Level Ad Hoc Committee members Les Kreyer and Joe Coglianese, presented the first annual Middle Level Education Report to the Board at its May 22 meeting. The report, presented in three parts, reemphasizes the priorities for Middle Level Education in District 97 as identified by the Middle Level Education Steering Committee last summer, reviews the progress of the implementation process during the past school year, and recommends three areas of focus for the next school year.

Promise and Possibilities is a comprehensive document that was crafted by the Middle Level Education Steering Committee to guide our work as we implement Middle Level Education in District 97. The vision of Promise and Possibilities requires us to: 1) pay attention to the best interests of our young adolescents --academically, emotionally, and socially; 2) pay attention to the type of global citizenship we are trying to instill in our young adolescents and provide opportunities for civic growth; 3) pay attention to improving, not simply maintaining, the academic, social, physical and cultural education for our young adolescents; 4) pay attention to engaging all building, principals, teachers and 5-8 students in the process; and 5) pay attention to engaging parents and community in the process.

Staff, parents, and community have begun to meet the challenge in a variety of way --by developing activities to strengthen the relationship between connecting schools such as the Middle Level Math Event, and CAST and BRAVO outreach performances; by increasing community service opportunities; by identifying best practices in other districts as well as in our own buildings; by identifying specific staff development needs regarding Middle Level philosophy; by improving articulation between schools and grade levels; through curriculum reviews currently underway; through our own self study and our work with the Director of Middle School Association; through gradual implementation, assessment, and refinement of strategies and concepts associated with Middle Level Education.

The biggest disappointment of this year is that the distribution and analysis of a parent study was not realized because the survey instrument available did not meet our needs.

In additional to developing, distributing, and analyzing a comprehensive parent survey, the committee made three recommendations for the coming year: 1) that Interdisciplinary Team Organization be in place in all schools by the fall of 1997. This includes flexible block scheduling, common planning time, and team and identity development; 2) that and Advisor-Advisee Program will be in place in all schools by the fall of 1997. This includes the development of a core advisory curriculum and in-service training for advisory teachers; and 3) that articulation between grade 4 through 9 will build "long hallways" that connect one school community to another.

At the core of these recommendations is our commitment to improve the level of student achievement and the quality of student/parent involvement and support for our schools.

posted 07/21/96