Better in the Middle

I have always felt that middle schools suffered from "the middle child syndrome." But you can get help - at the NJMSA. Last Friday our 6th grade guidance counselor and I traveled to Kean University to attend and present. Our topic was Easing the Transition from Elementary School to Middle School. While the guidance counselor did a great job of explaining our transition program and the research that backed it, I explained the technology aspects. We created a wiki, http://betterinthemiddle.wikispaces.com/,
for examples on how technology can be used as a tool to aid in transitions for parents, teachers, and students. Everyone who attended our session was eager to join, some wiki-ing for the first time ever. Hopefully we can all come together with some ideas on smoothing out the transition process and pay a little more attention to the needs and concerns of the "middle child."