No Child Left Behind legislation has taken a prominent place in the rush of middle school life. Sandwiched between the need to provide a safe school environment for preadolescents and the expectation that all curricular strands be addressed, rests NCLB.  There is no ducking NLCB, it’s here to stay – at least for a while.

 

Middle level teachers have been successful at multi-tasking. Who else can comfort Susie during home room because her hamster died, record attendance accurately, gather the lunch count and take a phone call from Brian’s stepmother regarding his grade in social studies. Middle level teachers can and do! Unlike their elementary or high school colleagues, middle level educators work with students whose very existence, whether rational or hysterical, can within milliseconds, change as quickly as the direction of wind.

 

Middle level administrators are kept busy throughout the day as well. Each day is fraught with challenges that need to be addressed in a timely manner. Failure to move quickly and efficiently only adds to the ‘things to do” list.  Reducing the length of the list each day signifies work is getting done and problems are being solved.

 

Addressing No Child Left Behind and realizing Adequate Yearly Progress can best be accomplished if a building’s teachers and administrators formulate a plan that can be successful and can be woven into the school’s daily schedule and programming.  

 

A good point of reference for creating a middle level response to NCLB might be found in lessons learned in Stone Soup, a favorite tale among elementary and middle school students. Just as the

itinerant traveler produced a stone from his pocket that with water and other ingredients yielded a rich and hearty soup, so too can NCLB be the stone for a educational soup that is aromatic and nutritious for middle level students.

 

Amassing the correct recipe for the soup can be accomplished with minimal difficulty keeping in mind that NCLB is the stone or the key ingredient. Begin the collection process by carefully examining which programs are already in place that can be brought to the soup pot. Some ongoing curricular initiatives may yield just what the recipe needs. How students are organized for instruction may be another source of flavor and tapping into existing before and after school programs may thicken the broth.   

 

Working collaboratively, teachers, administrators and counselors can tease out the strands of the instructional day, the curriculum, lunch and study hall schedules and before and after school programs to develop a comprehensive plan that will address NCLB and realize the prescribed AYP. 

 

Crafting a comprehensive program to address the needs of students who must realize greater achievement in math and reading needs to begin by communicating with the parents and guardians of these children. A personalized letter explaining the child’s deficiencies and asking for support to make the child and the program successful is imperative. Without the support of the parents or guardians even the best-designed programs will realize limited success.

 

The following list of possible ingredients follow what might be a typical middle school’s daily schedule:

 

NCLB and Stone Soup

by Dr. Robert Ruder