According to a 2-year study of over 1,500 middle-level classrooms in California and Missouri, most writing programs are not woven into the fabric of middle-school programs, practices, or policies. Programs are couched within the English/language arts curriculum. Four factors affect programs--teacher characteristics, commitment to middle-school…

Describes the efforts, outcomes, and recommendations from an urban California school district's pilot program for vaccinating preteens in two diverse urban middle schools. Barriers and strategies included staff inexperience, educating students, informing parents, tracking vaccinations, coping with language diversity, and creating individualized…

The intent of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 is to hold schools accountable for ensuring that all their students achieve mastery in reading and math, with a particular focus on groups that have traditionally been left behind. Under NCLB, states submit accountability plans to the U.S. Department of Education detailing the rules and…

This article provides a conceptual account and empirical analyses of the development of "boundary-crossing competence"--the ability to function competently in multiple contexts--using representative cases from two after-school programs with immigrant and low-socioeconomic status students. Our findings suggest that organizational designs…

The two city districts that made the greatest strides in math on the latest national assessment relied on similar strategies: building students' conceptual math skills and investing in professional development in that subject for elementary and middle school teachers. While administrators in Boston and San Diego say that many factors were at work…

A group of low-performing schools received additional state funds to improve achievement as part of California's Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program (II/USP). A mixed-method evaluation was conducted to determine whether II/USP schools outperformed similar non-II/USP schools, how teachers and administrators understood resources…

With his 10th book, Improving Test Scores: A Practical Approach for Teachers and Administrators, Scott Mandel outlines steps educators can take to boost achievement on standardized exams while maintaining the integrity of their day-to-day teaching. Mandel, who holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from USC, teaches history and English at…

Findings of a study that examined the attitudes of middle level teachers and principals toward middle-school certification are presented in this paper. Questionnaires were sent to 82 teachers and principals of all 46 public schools serving sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students in Kern County, California. Twenty-four principals and 48…

Suggests that language shift among nonnative English speakers can co-occur with positive attitudes toward the heritage language. Discusses results of a study of Hmong-speaking children in California. (Author/VWL)

Many middle schools use teaming or other models to create smaller teaching and learning units. Too often, schools align these models with characteristics advocated in the literature, rather than focusing on collaborative work environments' effects on teachers' and students' lives. These structures' true value lies in the collaborative work…

This study examines the pragmatic design and cost-effectiveness of the Marchus School's 1261 Project, a California program that serves elementary and middle school students with emotional or behavioral disorders within a public school setting. Case studies demonstrated that not only have costs been avoided but funds have also been saved.…

How similar to and different from each other are public elementary and high school teachers with respect to selected issues and values that define their practice? The present study attempted to shed light on this question by examining the motivations of three groups of teachers, two elementary and one high school, for remaining in teaching. The…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The "2011 State…

A study investigated the writing of incipient bilinguals (students who were in the initial process of acquiring a second language). A total of four Latino children were chosen for final, in-depth study over a 2 year-period at three middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Data included initial interviews and observations,…

This paper explores auto-photography as a form of research practice in the area of identity and self-esteem research. It allows researchers to capture and articulate the ways identity guides human action and thought. It involves the generation and examination of the static images that participants themselves believe best represent them.…