Social-emotional learning refers to the beliefs, attitudes, personality traits, and behaviors that students need to succeed in school and life. Our study looks closely at ten "outlier schools" in California's CORE districts whose students report strong social-emotional learning outcomes compared to other, similar middle schools. This…

There is a growing consensus in education that schools can and should attend to students' social-emotional development. Emerging research and popular texts indicate that students' mindsets, beliefs, dispositions, emotions, and behaviors can advance outcomes such as college readiness, career success, mental health, and relationships. Despite this…

This article explores how a laboratory middle school (LMS) serving students from low-performing elementary schools and students with academic or social-emotional challenges is developing as a trauma-responsive school. The authors explore the literature, school/community context, student cases, and the ways in which classroom and school-wide…

The purpose of this study was to investigate and study the importance of educational services mandated for Oklahoma's gifted and talented students with the conclusion being likely able to assist educators in providing gifted service options to meet the needs of gifted learners. Research has shown the need to provide educational services to gifted…

Mitigating the perils of transition to early adolescence, while also supporting the promise of this stage of human development, has been a major focus of middle school reform (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1989; Jackson & Davis, 2000). As a result, there are many classroom-based educational programs that target the social and…

They are adolescents--and those who work with them must understand them, connect with them, and make learning relevant to their lives. This article looks at recent theories and educational practices identified as appropriate for supporting the educational learning experiences of students ages 12 to 15. In this article, the author also discusses,…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school-wide gender equity efforts and seventh grade girls' and boys' educational outcomes and psychological functioning. In this paper, we detail the components of the study, which included documenting that this school did in fact have a gender equitable environment; measuring…