Effective educators value young adolescents, are prepared to teach them, and are knowledgeable about this age group. Middle level educators' understanding of adolescent brain development and developmentally responsive teaching strategies can help to support all adolescents' cognitive and social-emotional development in school. This article integrates findings from recent research regarding the adolescent brain and provides strategies for supporting students' development at the middle level, including effective learning strategies and support for self-regulated learning and emotional regulation. Based on improved understanding of brain development, teachers are encouraged to re-conceptualize adolescence as an important period of positive growth and as a unique developmental period primed for educational investment with lasting, far-reaching consequences.