efforts. If initiatives at the middle and high school level and the higher education level are not connected forward movement in collaborative programs, in offering innovative programs or in identifying and sustaining academically talented students may realize limited success.

c. Graduate schools at universities need to know why students are not enrolling in their programs, must communicate with the faculties of different colleges within the university and work collaboratively to design programs that nurture human potential.

It is critically important that graduate schools at the university level communicate with their counterparts. Open and frequent flow of communication through a variety of mediums will allow each department or school to be aware of an initiative that may be in the design stage, of research that is being conducted or of grants that have been awarded.

More importantly, communications will enable one department to offer assistance to another and may very well prevent duplicate efforts from taking place thus reducing expenses and allowing the organization to operate more efficiently.

Determining why student enrollment may be less than expected in a graduate program in mathematics, engineering, education or an other area of study will enable university personnel to closely examine the program and determine if there are gaps that need to be filled. The process is not unlike that which was suggested at the middle level in designing a curriculum that captures and maintains mathematically talented students.

Graduate schools, teacher preparatory programs at the undergraduate level, high school and middle school curriculum innovations all need to be connected in order to benefit students. Weaving these three strands together should take place naturally in that each entity is driven by the desire to create exceptional academic programs across the curriculum continuum. Modeling a second program from the successful design of the first one is a bit like building a bridge. If the first design was well planned and constructed a similar bridge should be replicated perhaps with minor modifications.

In that this model or a similar model is employed at most middle level schools it is an easy leap to craft a more challenging lane for those students who are capable of benefiting from an accelerated math program. This lane will be the entrance ramp to a more demanding mathematically focused highway that students will follow through to their high school careers.

The sequence of accelerated courses offered at the middle level needs to segue seamlessly into the next tier of math courses offered at the high school level. Giving this strand of the math curriculum a unique title may bring recognition to it and elevate it to a level to which talented math students may aspire. This piece of the journey needs to be well tuned so that local and state requirements are addressed and the student realizes a comprehensive math program that may begin with pre-algebra and conclude with college level calculus.

The preliminary blueprint for the middle level through high school model is the relatively simple in that most states have generated standards that must be realized as students traverse the courses contained within the overarching curriculum. Building and district administrators, curriculum coordinators and classroom teachers can implement the civil engineering strand of the math curriculum with little difficulty. Assisting students in realizing success and providing a “go to” person could be accomplished by developing an advisory or mentoring program that would support both the students and the program.

b. Teacher education programs at the university or college level need to be refined in order to send the best teachers into the field to identify and cultivate those students who are talented in mathematics and as well as other subjects.

The success of a challenging math program rests on the quality of the teachers. Teachers need to be outstanding in their field and possess the ability to recognize students who excel in math and propel them into the accelerated curriculum stand. This cannot be accomplished if teachers do not possess excellent mathematical and teaching skills. It is the responsibility of universities and colleges to train students to become outstanding teachers.

The process for securing the brightest and the best mathematics teachers should be identical to the model for identifying talented students at the middle level who have the potential to become civil engineers. The journey is the same the destination is different!

Devising an exemplary teacher education program rests with colleges and universities. It is the responsibility of higher education to refine the admission process, tweak the curriculum and to continuously monitor the progress of student teachers. Much of this work is ongoing and has been successfully realized.

It is imperative that colleges and universities communicate with local school districts to assist in generating innovative programs that allow members of both organizations to understand what each is doing and to support each other’s

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. Robert Ruder retired in December 2004 after thirty-six years as an educator. He served as a middle level principal in urban and suburban school districts for twenty-five years. His last assignment was in the Manheim Township School District. He has written articles of interest to middle level educators that have been published in Principal Leadership, Middle Ground, Middle Matters and the Middle School Journal.

Dr. Ruder recently founded Ruder Educational Consulting Services, whose purpose is to assist middle level educators in finding solutions to middle level problems. He can be contacted at Rruder@aol.com.