Why Focus on a Program for the Middle Grades?
Adolescence is a rapid and dynamic period of development. During this critical time, students' intellectual engagement, social skills, and sense of self become more defined and patterns of adult behavior emerge. Studies confirm that the skills and sensibilities necessary for success in high school, college, and beyond are established between the ages of 10 and 14.
Data shows that middle-grades schools in inner city neighborhoods are struggling. This is especially troubling since research indicates that when achievement lags in the middle grades, it leads to higher drop-out rates. As such, Middle Start seeks to improve academic and developmental outcomes for middle-grades students, while making a systemic impact on middle-grades education in urban areas across the country.
Middle Start helps schools create learning environments that tap the energy and dynamism of the early teen years by supporting the intellectual, physical, social, and emotional changes that mark the young adolescent experience.
