Caught in the Middle
Helping students avoid the middle-school trap
UPDATE: Middle Level Alert. NYSUT offers resources to local leaders on upcoming policy forums. Posted: March 29, 2003.
This report on middle education lays out for parents and other education stakeholders certain "rights" all students in the middle grades should enjoy - and which teachers believe are critical to students' success on the eighth-grade state tests, in high school and beyond.
NYSUT Bill of Rights:
For Students in the Middle Grades
Students in the middle grades, in order to succeed on eighth-grade tests; achieve higher academic standards; make a smooth transition to high school and develop to their fullest potential as adults; must be provided certain educational rights. New York State United Teachers believes students in the middle grades have the right to:
- Know what they must learn and what will be tested.
- Teachers who are certified, who know their subject area, and how to teach it.
- Teachers whose skills and knowledge are continually updated through ongoing, meaningful professional development.
- A balanced and academically rigorous education that prepares them to succeed in high school.
- Freedom from bullying and bad behavior that disrupts learning.
- Know that their hard work counts.
- Extra help when they need it.
- Small classes where they can receive more individual attention.
- A support system of guidance counselors, school psychologists, librarians, nurses, social workers and other professional and support staff.
- Schools equipped for the 21st Century.
Reform will not come easily, simply or cheaply. But the first steps toward a better middle-level education system must come immediately. How middle-level education is defined - and delivered - must change if New York State is to help students to successfully bridge the gap between childhood and young adulthood, and give all children, no matter where they attend school, the chance to develop a foundation for the more rigorous Regents standards.
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