 |
NEWS
RELEASE |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For further information,
contact:
Sue Swaim (NMSA), 1/800-528-NMSA
June Million (NAESP), 703/684-3345
PARENTS, SCHOOLS MUST TAKE ACTION TO HELP STUDENTS
SUCCEED AS THEY MOVE INTO MIDDLE SCHOOL
March 28, 2002--Two of the nation's leading educational organizations, representing
almost 60,000 elementary and middle school teachers, administrators, and
parents, today called for a partnership among parents, teachers, principals,
counselors and students to improve the success of those students as they
change from childhood to adolescence and move from elementary to middle
school.
The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and National
Middle School Association (NMSA) issued a call to action to schools with
specific steps principals, teachers and counselors, and parents should take
during this challenging period of transition that for some may be "associated
with a decline in academic achievement, performance motivation, and self-perception."
Teachers and counselors are urged to work with their counterparts at the
other level. Schools are asked to create transition plans and implement
teaching strategies at the middle level, such as teaching teams that have
proven successful. And parents are urged to find out about the new school's
programs and stay involved in their child's education.
"The transition from elementary
to middle school can be one of the most exciting times in a student's life,"
said Sue Swaim, NMSA executive director. "Yet, many students are apprehensive
and some parents fearful about the move. Educators owe it to students to
make this transition as smooth as possible so they remain engaged in learning.
We all must remember that the middle school years are the second most important
time in a person's development."
"Millions of young adolescents move from elementary to middle school
each year and face numerous changes," said Vincent Ferrandino, NAESP
executive director. "In most elementary schools children are taught
in self-contained classrooms with a familiar set of peers and one or two
teachers. In middle schools they must interact with five times as many peers
and more teachers and face intensified expectations."
Middle school youngsters are maturing physically, exercising independence,
and forming strong relationships with peers, which can lead to a strained
home atmosphere as both parents and children struggle with redefining roles
and relationships, according to the position statement. "It is also
a time when young adolescents are most likely to experiment with at-risk
behaviors," the paper says.
NAESP and NMSA are calling upon schools at both levels to adopt transition
plans to "restore the strong sense of belonging the entering middle
school student once felt in elementary school."
"The concerns most often expressed by students about to enter middle
school focus on the routine of the new school: finding their way around
and getting to class on time, dealing with lockers and combination locks,
and mixing with older students," the paper explains.
"Frankly, these issues are easy to solve when schools focus on them,"
said Ferrandino. "A plan could include visits to the new school by
the incoming student, meetings between parents at the two levels, big brother/sister
programs, and opportunities for incoming students to walk the route of their
new schedule."
"However, schools must move beyond some of the useful yet basic steps.
They need to develop a more comprehensive approach built upon a commitment
to teamwork and collaboration where educators, parents, and students work
together to design and implement transition programs," Swaim said.
"Too frequently, transition is thought of as a single task or a one-time
event. That approach will lead to failure," she continued. "There
must be a focus on transition throughout the school year, and that focus
must include school leaders, teachers, counselors, parents, other family
members, and the students themselves."
The paper calls for transition programs that include:
- a
sensitivity to the anxieties accompanying a move to a new school setting,
- the importance of parents
and teachers as partners in this effort, and
- the recognition that becoming
comfortable in a new school setting is an ongoing process, not a single
event.
The position paper, "Supporting
Students in Their Transition to Middle School," and resources will
appear on the Web sites and in the publications of both NMSA and NAESP.
It is also the basis of a co-developed workshop for national and state meetings
of both associations as they work with members throughout the United States,
Canada, and overseas.
Specific action steps in the paper can be found on the association web sites,
www.nmsa.org/news/transition.html or http://www.naesp.org/misc/jointstmt.pdf.
Established in 1921, the National Association of Elementary School Principals
serves 28,500 elementary and middle school principals in the United States,
Canada, and overseas.
National Middle School Association is the nation's largest professional
association focusing specifically on the education of young adolescents
(10 to 15 year olds). Its 29,265 members include middle level teachers,
principals, school administrators, parents, and others dealing with this
age group.
-30-
(NOTE TO REPORTERS: These
are the action steps as they appear in the position statement. A complete copy
of the statement is available on either association's web site.)
A Call to Action
National Middle School Association and the National Association of Elementary
School Principals urge principals, teachers, school counselors, parents, and
students at both elementary and middle school levels to work together in the
planning and implementing of strategies that will directly address students'
concerns and ease the transition to middle school and provide children with
a foundation for success in school and life. Specifically,
School leaders should:
- Make the planning, implementation,
and evaluation of transition activities an annual focus, beginning in the
intermediate grades of the elementary school.
- Begin as early as grade five to
create an environment that promotes a confident transition from a self-contained
classroom structure to the larger team structure of the middle school.
- Encourage collaboration among
elementary and middle schools and teachers, students, and parents.
- Provide comprehensive orientation
programs for teachers, students, and families, including older siblings, who
strongly influence attitudes and perceptions of transitioning students.
- Become knowledgeable about the
needs and concerns of young adolescents in transition.
- Support teachers' efforts to address
students' social, developmental, and academic needs.
- Provide leadership in creating
a climate that values and supports effective home/school communications.
Teachers and counselors should:
- Engage in collaborative planning
with their counterparts at the elementary and middle levels to ensure a smooth
academic transition that recognizes and accommodates variations in curricula
across feeder schools.
- Become knowledgeable about the
needs and concerns of young adolescents in transition.
- Keep parents informed, help them
become skilled in dealing with issues related to transition, and welcome their
participation in their children's education.
- Provide counseling at both the
elementary and middle levels to address transition concerns and assure students
of the availability of ongoing support.
- Provide programs, activities,
and curricula to help students understand and cope successfully with the challenges
of transition.
- Use a variety of developmentally
appropriate instructional practices that will enable each child to experience
academic success.
- Employ strategies such as cooperative
learning that provide opportunities for peer interaction.
- Consider organizational structures
such as team teaching that ensure teachers have meaningful knowledge and understanding
of each child.
Parents should:
- Provide young children with manageable
tasks that will help them develop organizational skills and responsibility.
- Encourage children to try new
things and to regard failure as a necessary part of learning and growing.
- Become knowledgeable about the
needs and concerns of young adolescents in transition.
- Help children turn their anxieties
into positive action by learning about school rules, schedules, locker procedures,
and the availability of counseling.
- Attend school functions and stay
involved in children's schooling.
- Support children in their efforts
to become independent.
- Maintain strong family connections
with young adolescents.
- Be alert to signs of depression
or anxiety in their children and seek help.
|
NATIONAL
MIDDLE SCHOOL ASSOCIATION
|
4151 Executive
Parkway, Suite 300
Westerville, OH 43081 |
|
|
©
COPYRIGHT 2002 by NATIONAL MIDDLE SCHOOL ASSOCIATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
|
|
