Changing middle schools

Many young adolescents - children ages ten to fourteen - bring to school powerful feelings of anger, helplessness, and despair. The first indications of risky behavior and maladaptive patterns of achievement often appear during these middle school years. Schools designed to meet the intellectual, social, and emotional needs of this age group can make an enormous difference to high-risk youth, yet there is widespread pessimism about the possibility of profoundly changing the public schools in our poorest communities. This book presents four inspiring portraits of poor urban middle schools…