This booklet summarizes research on best practices for implementing successful small learning communities and career academies. When well implemented, improvements in instructional and personalization strategies in combination with structural supports have demonstrated improved student attendance and learning. "From High School to Learning…

Middle school interdisciplinary teams developed a student behavioral management plan that aims to identify, develop, and coordinate appropriate school responses to the behavior of a specific student that will enable the youngster to become a successful, contributing member of the school program. Sample plan included. (Author/DCS)

Poses questions that are relevant to the division of labor in a team-teaching situation and offers suggestions for making team teaching a success. (FL)

Describes different types of team teaching, explaining the following: why it is popular, what teachers like about team teaching, the down side to team teaching, how to handle grading, and what parents say about team teaching. The paper presents advice from experienced team teachers and offers a resource for further information. (SM)

Describes an interactive television educational delivery system connecting three small schools in rural Iowa. (MD)

Evidence suggests that a middle school organizational design has some administrative advantages over the traditional junior high school program because of the more unified social and academic atmosphere. (LH)

Explores key issues in designing and implementing responsible and effective co-teaching programs. Defines co-teaching and illustrates a variety of manifestations of the concept. Also discusses establishing collaborative co-teaching relationships, introducing co-teaching to stakeholders, and fitting co-teaching into more conventional school…

Much of the emphasis in this handbook is on helping students develop investigative, problem-solving, and thinking skills, but the importance of students' working together in a cooperative and democratic setting to solve problems is also stressed. Cooperative learning is an instructional tool that can often be used to the student's advantage. Part…

Project Alternative Rooms, a program developed in the Kansas City (Missouri) schools, provides basic skills instruction to Chapter 1 students using a team-teaching approach with the students and the teachers in alternative classrooms. (MD)

The development of interdisciplinary teaching teams offers the counselor increasing opportunities to benefit larger numbers of students than usually appear in the guidance office. The counselor also gains more opportunities for inservice teacher education and for facilitating parent-teacher conferences. A format for this last function is outlined.…

Middle school scheduling is a major instructional activity reflecting understanding of human growth and development, agreed-on school objectives and purposes, and available human and physical resources. (Author/JM)

This handbook is designed to help educators set the stage for collaboration and teamwork by teaching how to become a SMART School using focus, reflection, collaboration, and leadership to set strategic and specific, measurable, results-based, and time-bound goals. The progress made in reaching these goals can then be measured using the…

This research indicates that educational organizations consist of a loose collection of individuals, units, or levels, each performing activities independently--as segmented units buffered from one another. The authors suggest ways administrators can be effective in this environment. (Author/IRT)

This manual is a guide to consultation and collaboration for educators of gifted children and is based on the Resource Consultation and Collaboration Program implemented at 10 schools in Charlotte, North Carolina, over 2 years. Individual chapters of the manual address the following topics: (1) overview of resource consultation and collaboration…

Forming teams is the logical first step in the transition to middle school from junior high school. Offers 10 questions that middle-level educators should ask as they embark upon this new venture of interdisciplinary teaming. (13 references) (MLF)