The Middle School Years
By kathleen on 31 Mar |
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Ah, middle school. .. two words that immediately evoke memories of acne, turbulent friendships and first crushes. A place where delicate emotions and hormones are the law of the land. As a middle school student, I was too busy juggling the ever-changing social dynamics taking place to make my academic success a true priority.
As outlined in the Education Week article In the Middle Years, the years between elementary and secondary school are especially crucial. According to research scientist Robert Balfanz, “about 40 percent of eventual dropouts could be identified in the 6th grade.” Middle school teachers have the complicated task of engaging students and holding them academically accountable at the same time tending to the physical and emotional changes that are taking place.
The middle schools of Durham, N.C. are taking this complicated task head-on. They’re balancing academic rigor with the behavioral accountability necessary for their students to succeed. For example, they have instituted more effective discipline approaches while building partnerships with agencies in Durham to help connect students to support services. Durham has also retrained school counselors to seek out students who need help, rather than waiting for them to knock on their doors. The attention that’s been given to the unique challenges of middle school has arguably contributed to a decrease in the district’s dropout rate—4.9 percent for the 2006-07 school year, below the state average.
The strategic approach of Durham, N.C. is a great example of how facing middle school challenges directly, on a district level, can inspire middle school students to redirect their energy from the latest social crisis to learning, staying in school, and focusing on the future. Read more about middle schools in North Carolina here.
I owe a great deal to the network of teachers and school administrators who kept me engaged and supported throughout those tumultuous years. Luckily, my dedicated teachers understood how to nurture my delicate pre-teen psyche while motivating my desire to succeed in school. Without them, I may still be stuck in the seventh-grade, worrying about getting asked to the dance. |
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