"MCPS School Safety and Security at a Glance" provides, in a single document, information about the reporting of incidents related to school safety and security, school climate, local school safety program descriptions, and serious incidents in all Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools. The information is presented for each school.…

The dramatic ups and downs so often witnessed in adolescents are the result of changes in their brain activity. It is vital that the emotional and psychological needs that arise from such intense brain development are acknowledged and addressed so that middle school becomes a safe environment for the budding adults.

Out-of-school time programs can enhance academic achievement by helping students learn outside the classroom. The purpose of this practice guide is to provide recommendations for organizing and delivering school-based out-of-school time (OST) programs to improve the academic achievement of student participants. The five recommendations in this…

This book examines sources of disempowerment in classrooms and schools and suggests ways to deal with them. This book shows how to build children's feelings of competence, control and influence by understanding and increasing their self-esteem. Chapter 1 looks at the barriers to overcome in empowering children. It examines how numerous forces at…

Reviews results of an African immersion program for at-risk middle-school boys based on the premise that a nurturing environment of structure, discipline, and a cultural context will enhance the academic performance and social development. The program is a partnership between Baltimore schools and the Baraka School in Laikipia, Kenya. (MLF)

This brief article tells the story of Gregg Robertson starting as principal of Swanson Middle School in Arlington, Virginia, having served previously as the school's assistant principal. The article details the events of his first day as the principal and the types of interactions he had with the students.

It is not people in general, but the right people who are your most important asset. By hiring more of the right people, organizations create a culture of superstars and keenly focused professionals with a common drive. The wrong people will usually become uncomfortable in this environment because of their lack of performance, and these folks will…

Invitational theory addresses the total educational environment and culture of the classroom and school, focusing on the people, places, policies, programs, and processes that constitute any school culture. Invitational teaching is a process for communicating caring and appropriate messages to nurture the realization of student potential as well…

This paper is the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ) fourth annual review of state laws, rules and regulations that govern the teaching profession. This year's "Yearbook" takes a different approach than the past editions, as it is designed as a companion to the 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook", NCTQ's most recent…

This guide is the result of a 2-year initiative, Results-Based Staff Development for the Middle Grades. It provides information and resources for selecting, designing, and evaluating staff development to improve student achievement. It targets school staff development committees, principals, staff development leaders, and curriculum coordinators.…

This book examines the relationship between creativity and self-esteem in detail in order to help build a classroom and school environment and to design activities that will enhance creativity and self-esteem at the same time. Chapter 1 analyzes some of the obstacles to enhancing creativity in schools and proposes methods for overcoming them.…

This guide is intended to be useful to educators in high schools and middle schools, to superintendents and school boards, and to state policymakers in planning and executing dropout prevention strategies. The target audience includes school administrators as well as district-level administrators, seeking to help develop practice and policy…

This book is about understanding ethics and morality. It is about helping children have higher self-esteem by teaching them what makes them good, noble, special and worthy of respect from others as well as self-respect. Chapter 1 discusses how schools can stand for something, how students and teachers experience meaning and purpose in their school…

Viewing standards from the perspective of classroom teachers, this book discusses the need to alter middle school culture to facilitate meaningful improvements in the teaching-learning environment. It emphasizes efforts by middle grades educators to make schools and classrooms places where more students work harder to do work of higher quality…

The Exploratorium is home to XTech, a science education program which began in 2006 and was primarily funded by a three-year National Science Foundation grant (Award # 05-25217) through its ITEST (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) initiative. XTech provided project-based afterschool activities in science, engineering,…