Lilla G. Frederick Middle School in the Dorchester area of Boston doesn't just train neighborhood parents how to use technology--it offers families who complete the training a new laptop practically free (for $50.00). What's more, students and parents participate in training sessions at the school together, with students often acting as teachers.…

From leading garden tours to planning a visit for Japanese teachers and participating in community theater, middle schoolers at Fort Worth's Applied Learning Academy learn academic content by working on community projects. Students' writing skills soared as they developed, edited, and field-tested brochures and trail-guide maps for their botanical…

Describes place-based education, a curricular approach that encourages students to engage in solving local problems, stimulates a desire to learn, and helps students connect to their community. (PKP)

A program at the Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center in Boston (Massachusetts) supplements the traditional program of ropes and rocks with community service, giving urban students opportunities to try out new leadership skills in local neighborhoods. (MLF)

Massachusetts middle school's Classroom-by-Committee program is based on town council model of subcommittees. Students briefed in self-management techniques choose committees that meet their needs while helping them develop critical thinking skills, set goals, identify problems, and generate solutions. Teachers facilitate learning, guide students…

Provides two examples of the use of the guided-experience approach to teach the U.S. Civil War to eighth-grade students and a life-science unit to third-graders. Describes four key competencies teachers must master to successfully use this approach: Develop community, use materials creatively, question effectively, and master the subject. (PKP)

Concern over low student achievement led to creation of a community-based Maryland mentoring program for at-risk African-American students. Mentoring was successfully used for teaching and coaching, strengthening racial harmony, promoting social change, ensuring equal education, and creating opportunities for personal empowerment. By portraying…

When introducing a new middle-school mathematics curriculum, an Iowa school district anticipated parents' misgivings, addressed them early, and made parents into allies. Planners addressed parental concerns by exuding confidence and honesty, treating parents as equal partners, defining accountability, communicating effectively, carefully selecting…

The Lewisburg (Pennsylvania) Area Middle School has successfully implemented an alternating-day block schedule that has yielded improved academic performance. The positive effect may derive from administrative support, teacher empowerment, and community agreement. The culture of the traditional schedule and school year remains essentially intact,…