The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform is committed to making high-performing middle-grades schools the norm rather than the exception. The Forum believes that specialized preparation of middle-grades educators will produce competent and caring teachers who are well-qualified to teach young adolescents. Therefore, the Forum strongly supports the specialized preparation of middle-level teachers at both the pre-service and graduate levels. To that end, the Forum makes the following recommendations: (1) States should establish mandatory requirements for middle-level teacher licensure as an incentive for both institutions and individuals to pursue a middle-level specialization; (2) Colleges and universities should establish teacher preparation programs that prepare practicing and future teachers to work specifically with young adolescents, and assign faculty and staff with expertise in middle-level education to these programs; (3) Districts and schools should hire middle-grades teachers to teach the subjects they are prepared to teach; (4) States should make middle-level teacher licensure specific to the middle grades (e.g., grades 5 through 8, or 6 through 9) and not overlap significantly with licensure for the elementary or high school levels; (5) Middle-grades licensure for content-area teachers (such as language arts, science, mathematics, and social studies) should be middle-grades subject-specific and middle-grades standards-based, including concentrated study in two or more academic areas; and (6) Colleges and universities should work in partnership with districts and schools to provide ongoing professional development and sustained support for both new and veteran middle-level teachers. (Contains 2 footnotes.) [For "Student Assignment in the Middle Grades towards Academic Success for All Students. Policy Statement. Issue 1," see ED528802.]