September 28, 2023 Read Time:
Students
What metaphor would you use to describe middle school? Is it a roller coaster ride, with a lot of ups and downs, and plenty of screaming? Or is it more like a foundation upon which an adolescent’s house can be built?
These opening questions teed up a new, ongoing ECLC conversation between district educators: Reimagining Middle School: Walking the Path Together. In partnership with WPS Institute, ECLC is offering a year’s worth of cross-district learning in pursuit of designing a better vision for the middle school experience. This idea was sparked by our interest in the Salem Public School’s middle school pilot, which is now in its second year, with sustained facilitation and support from WPS. We wondered, “Why not offer a similar conversation—and similar experiments—to all ECLC member districts?”
On September 18th (the first "Middle School Monday"!) a group of administrators from several ECLC districts gathered at the Wylie Inn and Conference Center in Beverly to re-examine the purpose of middle school in the contemporary context and dream up new possibilities for the future. Participants were introduced to the Salem pilot and created their own portraits of a middle schooler, calling to mind a single student. To guide their brainstorming, participants considered head-to-toe prompts including:
- Eyes: What are some things this young person sees (at home, at school, from adults, from peers, in the world around them)?
- Mouth: What do you often hear this young person saying?
- Heart: What are some things this young person loves and cares about?
- Stomach: What might be some worries this young person has?
A few examples from participants:
(Click each image to enlarge it)
As homework, participants were asked to create a portrait of 2-3 of their middle school students to share with colleagues in the working group.
Some of the adjectives used to describe the afternoon experience were reassuring, connected, hopeful, collaborative, reaffirming, engaging, uplifting, thought-provoking, curious, and energized.
One participant noted, “We can't be "traditional" in our work. The world is different, and school needs to be different!” Another said, “I love the idea of designing an idea with us to bring to our building! My mind is percolating….”
This workgroup will meet again on October 16 on Zoom, and will visit the Collins Middle School pilot in November. New participants are welcome to join the working group: Please register and we will reach out to catch you up on what you missed. Reimagining Middle School will resume in January with more learning and collaboration and at least one additional site visit.
