Focuses on three areas for building effective school, family, and community partnership programs: a planning framework, an organizational structure, and an assessment of challenges. (Contains 23 references.) (PKP)

Aurora, Colorado's Horizon Middle School maintains good community relations partly by housing a branch of the city library, a city-sponsored community center, three classrooms for a preschool, a sixth-grade class, a boy scout troop, soccer teams, local homeowners' associations, and two church groups. (PGD)

The writer suggests that if proponents of the junior high and middle school concepts would abandon their debate and coordinate their efforts, both students and society would reap great benefits. (Editor)

In an effort to learn more about the growth of middle schools in the sixties, the author surveyed a select sampling of middle and junior high schools to see if they in fact met the descriptions appearing in the literature. His findings are presented in this article. (Editor)

To the author joy suggests an inner harmony with one's physical and human environment. Pupils, teachers, and principals--all are constantly reaching for that inner harmony. (Author/CB)

Identifies an instrument for measuring learning styles and explains how its usage can help teachers review and improve instructional procedures. (MLF)

Examines the concept of interdisciplinary team teaching and poses some questions which should help answer the question in the title. (Editor/RK)

A recent survey of teachers and principals at 2,876 randomly selected elementary, middle, and secondary schools disclosed strong support for special certification for middle school teachers and counselors. However, teachers support special certification for principals, whereas principals do not. Both groups support coursework emphasizing…

Summarizes findings of several major middle schools reports, highlighting the National Middle School Association's publication "This We Believe" (1982), NASSP's "An Agenda for Excellence at the Middle Level" (1985), the California State Department of Education's "Caught in the Middle" (1987), and the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development's…

Describes a study to identify the concerns, issues, and questions about middle-level education in four communities. Survey data gathered from teachers, parents, and the general public were clustered into manageable categories. Major concerns included a pervasive sense of anonymity, puzzling curriculum, lack of rigor or challenge, sociability and…

As shown by a survey of three middle-level assistant principals, student discipline consumes an inordinate amount of attention. Also, participants did not see their position as an avenue to help youngsters. Since school administration duties should be shared, assistant principals must shed their "noneducational,""daily operations…

Research review suggests that parent involvement in middle school and high school has positive effect on the academic success of students. Proposes strategies for middle and high school principals to recruit parent and community volunteers and to train teachers to work with volunteers. (Contains 23 references.) (PKP)

Recent years have seen a proliferation of student action research both nationally and internationally. Going by various names--participatory research, action research, participatory evaluation--student action research is research that (a) is conducted by youth, within or outside of schools and classrooms, with the goal of informing and affecting…

Described a project designed to help students improve upon their reading ability. (RK)

A survey of junior high/middle school activity programs indicates that middle schools are falling into some of the same practices that have been criticized in junior high schools. (Editor)