"Mason students hone, share writing skills" (Lansing State Journal, 02/09/09)

Whether it’s a poem, short story or novel, eighth-grade language arts teacher Kristine Brickey said she knows how scary it is for writers to share their work.

So the Mason Middle School teacher created an after-school writing club to help students feel more comfortable sharing and discussing their writing. Sometimes, she even shares some of her own.

"High School and Beyond" (EdWeek, 02/03/09)

Charter school's curriculum focuses on the fact that educators and policymakers increasingly recognize that in middle school, a combination of strong academic preparation, close monitoring, and good support is pivotal to success in high school.

"Pep rally rewards achievers, encourages at-risk kids to succeed in school" (Dallas Morning News, 01/09/09)

Energetic kids file into the Dade Middle Learning Center auditorium. An artist paints kids' faces. A cheerleader-turned-emcee gets the crowd fired up. Students dance in their seats. It's a scene common in many middle and high schools, normally leading up to the big event: the football game.But this pep rally is about the school's stars in language arts, math and science.

"Hapless Boy Wins Eager Friends" (NYTimes, 01/09/09)

Profile of the author of the “Wimpy Kid” series, which chronicles the rude, crude and hapless travails of Greg Heffley, its middle-school narrator, echo around the country and across the Internet. Also explores the book's influence on reluctant readers.

"Reading council helps teachers motivate students" (Post-Tribune, 11/6/08)

Judy Rauscher, language arts instructor at Clark Middle School in Hammond, is always searching for new ways to keep her students motivated and excited about the written word.

Middle School Reading Coaches Found to Build Teachers' Skills

NCTE member Nancy L. Shanklin and the NCTE/IRA
Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse are mentioned.  Education
Week, September 11, 2008

Principal has proud passion for helping students to read

Ask Kathy Harrington what the most important room in the Pine-Richland Middle School is and she won't say a science classroom where students study biology, a French classroom where they learn about the culture of Paris, or the reading classroom where they decipher the words of famous poets.

She'll tell you it's the room where they can do all of the above -- the library.

Florida Reading Coaches Help Other Teachers; Effect on Students Unclear"

A recent study of Florida’s middle school reading coaches finds that they seem to have a positive effect on how teachers teach reading.