Strengthening Transitions

Features

Building Alliances, Building Families
Herb Rotchford
One key to helping students make a successful transition into middle school is creating a feeling of family among the students, parents, teachers, and administrators at the feeder elementary schools and the middle school. Herb Rotchford describes how the schools in his district "created community."

The Next Best Step
Joan Maute and Judith Allen Brough
Do you really know what students are worried about as they make the transition from middle school to high school? You might be surprised what's on their minds. Joan Maute and Judy Brough share results of their research and offer tips for helping middle school students take the next big step—into high school.

Vertical Teaming: Making Connections
Penny H. Kowal
When teachers in the receiving schools know what to expect of their new arrivals, they are better prepared to meet their students' social, emotional, and academic needs. Penny Kowal tells us what is happening in Omaha's Millard Public Schools.

Helping Parents of Special Needs Students
Carrolet I. Taylor
Parents of special needs students have unique concerns when their child moves into middle school or high school. Carrolet Taylor offers tips for reassuring parents as their students move into unfamiliar ground.

Clique the Habit
Nancy Griffin-Bonnaire
Cliques have been a mainstay of middle schools for years. While they can provide support for middle school students who are looking to "fit in," they can also foster exclusion. Nancy Griffin-Bonnaire shares strategies for creating an atmosphere of cooperation and tolerance.

Departments

The Electronic Thread
Brenda A. Dyck
Technology can be a great tool for supporting personal reflection and professional development. Brenda Dyck shares some tips for developing electronic portfolios, making connections on the Web, and even publishing your thoughts online!

One Teacher to Another
Rick Wormeli
How can teachers keep the fire for learning lit while plowing through the seemingly endless paperwork the first week of school? Rick Wormeli shows us how to balance academics and administrivia.

The Mark of Leadership
Tom Leyden
To identify one type of leadership and try to model it in all situations is to invite disaster. Tom Leyden urges school leaders to "be the leader you are, not the leader you are not."

Spotlight on Math
Suzie Boss
Realizing the important role math plays in our lives often depends on making connections—connections to the real world and connections to other subject areas.