The purpose of this study was to conduct a program evaluation of an eighth grade social and emotional learning (SEL) program collaboratively designed between a middle school and community organization. The program goals aligned to CASEL's SEL framework, and were executed through project-based learning activities of the core curriculum. A…

In a hypercompetitive academic culture propelled by acceptance into the nation's prestigious colleges and universities, there has been a growing number of secondary students who are fixated on pursuing advanced coursework. This phenomenon of students beginning a sequence of advanced mathematics courses at the middle school level so they can take…

Purpose: Despite the difficulties students encounter during the freshman transition, the phenomenon remains an understudied topic in education. The purpose of this collective case study was to gain an understanding of the Grade 8 to Grade 9 transition experience for African American male students in one suburban school district. Furthermore, this…

Drawing on interviews with 88 middle school counselors tasked with implementing New York City's high school choice policy, we show that counselors largely question the policy's legitimacy and the equity of the high school assignments it produces. By highlighting issues of transparency and procedural fairness that threaten counselors' acceptance of…

This article presents the Achieving Success Everyday (ASE) group counseling model, which is designed to help school counselors integrate students' academic and personal-social development into their group work. We first describe this group model in detail and then offer one case example of a middle school counselor using the ASE model to conduct a…

This evaluation study explores the reform role of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) school counselors in promoting students' academic achievement, college readiness, and transition from 8th grade into high school. In addition, this report identifies particular actions that CPS can undertake to better utilize and support school counselor professionals,…