CMoG Middle Level Institute
The New York State Middle School Association and The Corning Museum of Glass are proud to host our sixth annual NYSMSA/CMoG Middle-Level Institute in Corning, New York, June 30 - July 1st. The Institute will be held at The Corning Museum of Glass’s ultra-modern facility. In addition to receiving ten hours of intensive hands-on middle-level instruction, participants will be able to spend considerable time perusing the glass exhibits that extend back to antiquity. Participants will exercise their own creativity with a hands-on glass project. Participants will select and participate in one of six instructional strands being offered by practitioner experts. Each session will provide participants with the tools needed to apply what is taught in practical ways. Instruction will include hands-on components with twenty-five or fewer individuals in each session. Click here for detailed information and registration forms.

The Middle School Mind: A Work in Progress How do early adolescents think? Learn? Feel? Act?  

The 28th Annual Conference of the New York State Middle School Association will be held in
Syracuse on October 23-25, 2008. Click here! Join thousands of middle level educators at:

  • School Visits
  • Technology Fair and Demonstrations
  • Pre-conference Sessions: Differentiation, Student Management, Inclusion, Study Skills, Brain-Based Planning, Technology, and more!
  • Technology Fair
  • Banquet: Jane Bluestein, author of 21st Century Discipline and 10 other books
  • Keynote: Robert Sylwester, author of A Celebration of Neurons and BrainConnection.com
  • Feature Presentations, including Jane Bluestein, Robert Sylwester, Tim Green, Rick Chapman, Colleen Tedeschi & Kerri McKee
  • 120 Practitioner Workshops
  • 100+ Educational and Technology Vendors
  • Breakfast with Champions: Using Classroom Technology That Works
  • Social Events, including Reception at Museum of Science and Technology
  • And More!  

Complete Conference Information and Regsitration Material available! Click here.
Want to be a vendor and reach thousand of middle level educators? Click here.
Want to PRESENT? Click here.

What Works in Middle Schools and Programs
We know what works in middle level school in programs. The things that work are called the Essential Elements of Standards-Focused Middle Level Schools and Programs, usually referred to simply as the Essential Elements. The Essential Elements provide us with the guidance to deliver research-based, proven programs for our early adolescents. What are the Essential Elements? They are:
  1. A philosophy and mission that reflect the intellectual and developmental needs and characteristics of young adolescents.
  2. An educational program that is comprehensive, challenging, purposeful, integrated, relevant, and standards-based.
  3. An organization and structure that support both academic excellence and personal development.
  4. Classroom instruction appropriate to the needs and characteristics of young adolescents provided by skilled and knowledgeable teachers.
  5. Strong educational leadership and a building administration that encourage, facilitate, and sustain involvement, participation, and leadership.
  6. A network of academic and personal support available for all students.
  7. Professional learning and staff development for all staff that are ongoing, planned, purposeful, and collaboratively developed.
To find about more about the Essential Elements, just click on the Middle Level Essentials button to the left. You'll find details, ready-to-use presentations, protocols for implementation, etc. Visit the Essential Elements wiki to join in a dicussion.
Essential Elements: Schools-to-Watch
Click on the Schools-to-Watch button on the left for all you need to know about the Essential Elements: Schools-to-Watch school recognition program.
QUICK ACCESS TO STATE ED INFORMATION
There now is a middle-level site at NYSED that collects different information and links about education department initiatives. Just click!
PROTOCOLS for USING THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
A set of three protocols have been developed to guide a school's use of the Essential Elements of Standards-Focused Middle-Level Schools and Programs. Taken together, the three protocols represent a comprehensive set of tools and guidance for beginning and sustaining a system of continuous reflection and improvement based upon the research-based Essential Elements and their rubrics. Each protocol can be used independently of the others. Click here to read more and to access the protocols.
 


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New York State Middle School Association
PO Box 53 • Pleasantville, NY  10570
voice and fax: (914) 747-9241