Celebrate Middle Level Education

NASSP has joined with the Association for Middle Level Education, The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform, Adolescent Success, ACT, and Active Schools to declare March the official month to celebrate middle level education.

We strongly encourage you to use the resources here throughout the year. After all, our aim is to continually develop and maintain supportive public attitudes toward middle level education during every month of the year. Those concerned with the education of young adolescents should celebrate and advocate for middle level education all year long.

Here are a few ideas to help you plan your Middle Level Education Month celebration:

  • Get the word out. Develop a few message points about your school that you want to share. Put them on business cards for the staff, on your fax cover sheet, in parent newsletters, on your website, Facebook page, etc.
  • Develop a brochure. Call it “50 Magnificent Things about Our Middle School” and distribute it at registration, open house, conferences, and other events. Give copies to your district office and local realtors to pass on to those considering moving into your attendance area.
  • Connect with local realtors. Host a breakfast or lunch, and then give them a tour of your schools and share programs that make you proud. Realtors are often the ones asked questions about the schools in the area.
  • Engage your superintendent. Keep your superintendent and board informed of effective middle level practices. Pass on articles or websites you think would interest them. Invite them to attend a middle level conference with you. Offer to share results of a successful program at a school board meeting – and bring along students to help with the report! Send board members copies of your school newsletter.
  • Let students help. Invite a student to join you at a civic club meeting. Help civic organizations feature students at their meetings. Encourage student performance groups to reach out to community organizations for meeting programs.
  • Build a relationship with your local media. Find out who is in charge of the education news and ask them how they want you to keep them informed of happenings at your school.
  • Stay in touch. Contact your state and federal representatives. Invite them to visit your school to speak with classes during the off session or to shadow you, a teacher or a student. Offer to be a resource on educational issues and keep them informed of pending legislation that will impact middle level education.
  • Give your message a personal touch. Facts and figures can be impressive, but a story about how those facts impact the students in your school will make a more lasting impression. Write op-ed articles in newspapers, on blogs, in on-line publications or in letters or emails written to state and/or federal representatives.
  • Don’t be modest! If we want the general public to understand what quality middle level education is all about, then we need to draw attention to the many magnificent things that are happening in countless middle level schools across the country.