It was a mind set for teachers. Changing from junior high into a curriculum of a middle school. It wasn’t something that I was looking forward to at the beginning, and thenwe had some training to let us know about the curriculum itself as to why we needed to switch over.
The responsibilities and expectations for middle administrators also would be different from the junior highmodel. Only principals and assistant principals who embraced the middle school philosophy were selected. A high priority was placedon those individuals who were collaborative with their peers, demonstrated the skill of listening, and felt comfortable workingclosely with and learning from teachers and parents. Study participants commented on the selection of middle schooladministrators:
The leadership in the building is the most important thing. If any one of the principals had beenpro-secondary rather than middle school, I don’t think the school would look the same. If you were prejudiced against middle schooland brought that image back to your faculty, then you didn’t last.
Additional Education
The district hired 3 consultants who had worked in school districts that recently had adopted the middleschool concepts. Throughout the two-year preparation period, the consultantsconducted extensive workshops for teachers and administrators. The first workshop was in September and focused oninterdisciplinary teams. Another two-day workshop was conducted the following February. This session had an extensive agenda. Topicsincluded the nature of the middle school learner, how to run a team meeting, how to plan for interdisciplinary instruction, how toalter instructional techniques, the role of the team in managing student behavior, and the development of a strategic plan foropening the middle schools. One of the consultants remembered the reaction of the teachers during the workshops:
I saw all kinds of facial expressions. When we were talking about how the middle school child is, I saw somepeople smiling, like yeah, that’s what I see [among kids]. And someothers that either were skeptics or they were just simply dealing with their own anxieties and uncertainties, and a few gave theimpression that‘this too shall pass and I won’t be involved.’But, what I also sensed was a willingness to listen. I saw the majorityof the people at least willing to entertain that there may be something to this.
In the year prior to the opening of middle schools, teachers were required to enroll in district-fundedcollege courses on middle school curriculum and instruction, diagnostic reading, and reading in the content area. The learningrequirement, coupled with the consultants’educational sessions were shared by everyone and served to imprint a common vision ofthe middle school concept. One of the participants described these requirements:
I think that one of the most difficult things that we did was one of the best things we did. That was to say thateverybody was a teacher of reading. That’s the only time that the school system actually mandated that teachers complete six hourswork of reading courses. I think that helped the overall program. I know some people who wanted to be in the middle school were nothappy with that. I think that [taking reading courses] was a plusin making the transition.