Resources from National Middle School Association

National Middle School Association

Resource Title: H.E.L.P.
Price: $20.00 for 50 brochures (NMSA members: $16.00)
Author: Judith Baenen
Description: Parents of young adolescents are worried. But now there's H.E.L.P. Beginning with the exhortation, "get ready for changes!" H.E.L.P. tells parents what to expect of young adolescents and why, offering compassionate, practical solutions to common problems: forgetting, irritability, power plays, friendships, chores, and more. Sold in packets of 50 for distribution to parents, this affordable pamphlet can make a real difference in students' lives outside the classroom. Also available in Spanish.

Resource Title: Keys to Reengaging Families in the Education of Young Adolescents
Price: $20.00 (NMSA members: $16.00)
Author: Hazel Loucks and Jan Waggoner
Description: This comprehensive resource includes abundant suggestions and materials to help answer a critical need documented by decades of research and the experiences of educators nationwide. Every middle school should have this tool available as efforts to increase communication with families are implemented. Pull-out sections may be used as stand-alone handouts, communication enhancers for newsletters, supplements for parent-teacher conferences, or as general information for community organizations. Spiral bound to facilitate reproduction.

Resource Title: Promoting Harmony: Young Adolescent Development and School Practices
Price: $12.00 (NMSA Members: $9.60)
Description: The premise of Promoting Harmony is deceptively simple, "the process of becoming a successful school begins with an understanding of young adolescents and an appreciation of their unique needs." This book shows how teachers, students, and parents can work together in harmony and gives many examples of successful school practices. With chapters on physical, sexual, intellectual, social development, and personal characteristics of young adolescents, this book offers an intimate glimpse into the development of 10- to 15-year-olds and provides essential insights into what their behavior means.

Resource Title: This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents
Author: National Middle School Association
Description: This new, expanded edition of our association's position paper must be read thoughtfully by every middle level educator, policymaker, parent, and anyone interested in the best thinking about Successful Schools for Young Adolescents, the very apt sub-title. Presenting a vision of a developmentally responsive middle school, this resource opens with a section on the importance of middle level education from the point of view of young adolescents and our changing society. This is followed by the heart of the document, an elaboration of the 14 characteristics of successful middle schools. A Call to Action then provides specific suggestions for using this document as a tool to improve middle level schools. An important concluding feature of This We Believe is a completely rewritten section of the characteristics of young adolescents, prepared by noted scholar, Dr. Peter Scales of the Search Institute. The new This We Believe is truly a significant document that should be read and studies widely and used in every middle school.

Resource Title: What is a Middle School?
Price: $15.00 for 50 brochures (NMSA Members: $12.00)
Description: Order online at www.nmsa.org or by calling 1-800-528-NMSA (6672) ResourceDescription4: This attractive and informative brochure for parents, school boards, and the community helps to build understanding and gain support for the modern middle school. It defines early adolescence as a time of rapid growth and change, explaining how the middle school supports adolescent development through active learning, teaming, integrated instruction, and exploratory learning.