This book was designed to help school, parent, and community leaders acquire the skills necessary for the successful restructuring of middle-level schools. Chapter 1 defines middle-level education and describes the forces that shaped and continue to shape middle-level education, the evolution of middle-level schools, and current middle-level school organization and practice. The research about how middle-level schools should be organized, what successful middle-level schools should look like, and why they need to change are the major issues examined in chapter 2. Chapters 3 through 6 focus on building a comprehensive knowledge base for planning and decision making. Topics include students' developmental characteristics, developmentally appropriate curricula, interdisciplinary teaming, and a review of successful middle-level programs. Chapters 7 and 8 examine restructuring, the role of leadership in school change, and collaboration. The processes of strategic planning--planning, implementing, and evaluating--provide the focuses of chapters 9 through 11. The concluding chapter emphasizes that successful middle-level schools are always in the process of restructuring, It stresses the importance of continuing the inquiry and reflection process and maintaining a climate of change. Twenty-eight figures are included. (LMI)