Stellar

Historically, middle schools have existed much like §the neglected middle child in a family. The No §Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has changed that §position as middle schools are the focus of a §growing number of research studies and of intense §outcome-oriented attention. This book presents the §STELLAR (Students and Teachers Engaged in Literacy §Learning and Respect) model for middle school §job-embedded collaborative professional §development. A literature review of the §characteristics of professional development, a §compilation of site documents from one school §district in the mid-Atlantic region of the United §States, and a summary of focus group interview data §from teachers in the district's middle schools §informed the development of this middle school model §of professional development. Analysis of structured §interviews from district administrators and middle §school principals guided revision of the model so as §to make it viable for implementation in their middle §schools. Historically, middle schools have existed much like §the neglected middle child in a family. The No §Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has changed that §position as middle schools are the focus of a §growing number of research studies and of intense §outcome-oriented attention. This book presents the §STELLAR (Students and Teachers Engaged in Literacy §Learning and Respect) model for middle school §job-embedded collaborative professional §development. A literature review of the §characteristics of professional development, a §compilation of site documents from one school §district in the mid-Atlantic region of the United §States, and a summary of focus group interview data §from teachers in the district''s middle schools §informed the development of this middle school model §of professional development. Analysis of structured §interviews from district administrators and middle §school principals guided revision of the model so as §to make it viable for implementation in their middle §schools.