The Middle School Achievement Project: A Grassroots Effort Improves Middle Level Education

Blanche Desjean-Perrotta

The last two decades have seen a strong movement to transform programs for middle school students to make them more developmentally appropriate. Experience shows that the persons directly affected by the changes, that is, superintendents, principals, and teachers generate most school reform efforts. Usually, community members are invited by district personnel to sit on committees to provide both political and financial support for the proposed changes. In a few instances, districts may engage the community in monitoring and encouraging the reform efforts under the guidance of central office personnel. Seldom, however, does the literature report reform efforts where a grassroots community organization takes a leadership role to promote school reform. This article describes the unique middle-level transformation efforts of one such organization to help a large, urban, school district achieve high-performing schools for its young adolescents.

Through a creative partnership with the Minneapolis Public School District, the League of Women Voters of Minneapolis designed and initiated a project to study the district's reform measures and their impact on students in the middle grades. Central to this project is a series of two comprehensive shadow studies conducted in the middle grades of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS). Following is a brief overview of the five-year plan for middle school reform developed by the MPS (Figure 1), a description of the League's Middle School Achievement Project, and a summary of the impact of this project on school reform efforts.

Figure 1. Timeline of Minneapolis Public School
Middle Grades Reform Activities 

Source: League of Women Voters of Minneapolis. (2000, p. 6).

Elements of the Minneapolis Middle School Reform Efforts

Developing a vision
The nationwide call for middle level education reform did not go unheeded by the Minneapolis community. Concern for the quality of the educational program for its middle level students prompted the Minneapolis Public Schools to take a long, hard look at the way in which its educational programs aligned with the national recommendations for developmentally appropriate middle level experiences. Aware of the value of a unifying vision for achieving sustainable school improvement, the MPS School Board approved the "Platform for Effective Middle Grades Education" in 1998 (henceforward referred to as the "Platform"). This vision statement is based on the recommendations from the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development (1989) and the best research about middle grades reform (Manning, 1993).

The Platform outlined eight Belief Statements "that guide the development of standards for all programs serving students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades, whether in middle or K-8 schools" (Minneapolis Board of Education, 1998, p.1):

1. We believe that middle grades must provide a core of common curriculum to all students. All students will be assessed according to the standards.
2. We believe that small scale learning environments are developmentally appropriate. Large middle grade sites need to be divided into small communities for learning.
3. We believe that staff for the middle grades need to be specially prepared to teach young adolescents.
4. We believe that schools need to promote good health because the education and health of young adolescents are inextricably linked.
5. We believe that middle grades need to be organized to ensure success for all students.
6. We believe that students, teachers, administrators, family, and community share responsibility and power in transforming the middle level grades.
7. We believe that families are allied with school staff through mutual respect and trust.
8. We believe that communities and schools are partners in educating young adolescents. (Minneapolis Board of Education, 1998, p. 12)

Developing the action plan
Following the endorsement of the Platform by the Board of Education, a five-year action plan was developed, and five work groups were organized and charged with designing plans for implementing the Platform. Led by principals, but including teacher, family, and community representation, these five groups were established:

• Small Scale Learning Environments: charged with developing models for creating small scale learning environments in 6-8 programs that address team structures, organization of instructional time, special needs, and a balanced number of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders in all programs.
• Standards and Staff Development: charged with developing consistent and long-term plans for staff development focused on deepening knowledge about student learning, curriculum mapping, authentic assessment, and inquiry methods.
• Family and Community Involvement: charged with developing overall strategies to support family and community involvement in the middle schools.
• Positive Behavior Management: charged with developing action plans to improve middle grades achievement through positive behavior management that promotes an effective and safe learning climate.
• Attendance: charged with determining practices and policies that support improved attendance of middle grade students.

Coordination and implementation
Change cannot occur districtwide without the encouragement and support of central office administration. An essential element for district-level middle grades reform is the assignment of a coordinator who can provide the vision and the skills necessary to maintain the impetus needed for such schoolwide reform. The MPS provides a Middle Grades Standards Coordinator who works directly with schools to assess progress and support needs. Area Superintendents who assess the School Improvement Plans against the Platform goals also monitor implementation of the recommendations of the five work groups. In addition, a Middle Grades Steering Committee guides the implementation of the Platform standards.

Most importantly, the leadership and vision provided by the district superintendent and her staff empowers principals and faculty to move from rhetoric to action. Progress in reform efforts is sustained by visionary and thoughtful decision-making by central office personnel regarding budgets, staffing, professional development, and general districtwide support systems devised to maintain the momentum for school improvement. One of these support systems is a unique partnership with the League of Women Voters of Minneapolis (LWVM). Together, the LWVM and the MPS administrators developed a school improvement project aimed at supporting the district's middle school reform efforts.

The Middle School Achievement Project

Introduction
As an organization with a long history of interest in and advocacy for quality public education, the League of Women Voters of Minneapolis obtained funding from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation to create a community-based project for middle grades reform. The project developed by the League came to be known as the Middle School Achievement Project. The Foundation grant enabled the organization to work with the Minneapolis Public Schools for the improvement of middle level education. The MPS district is one of only several districts nationwide to receive the benefit of a grant from the Foundation to create a community-based project to look at middle grades reform.

Goals of the project
The Middle School Achievement Project is designed by the League to promote as well as monitor the middle school reform efforts of the MPS. The goals of the project are to promote higher standards within the classroom, increase parental involvement, and promote strong leadership in every middle school. The strategies used to achieve these goals include among others, conducting classroom observations, creating family liaison positions in the middle schools, and mobilizing and supporting grassroots efforts to improve middle level education in the city.

Strategies for achieving higher standards
Lipsitz, Mizell, Jackson, and Austin (1997) stated that "when schools embrace data-based decision making as a school-improvement tool, they make measurable progress in attaining their objectives" (p. 536). With this in mind, the LWVM conducted two separate shadow studies of the MPS middle schools over a period of two years. The goal of the studies was to obtain objective data for decision making that could help district personnel plan the critical next steps in reform. It was also the goal of the LWVM to gather and share the study data with the rest of the community in order to mobilize a grassroots effort to improve middle level education in the city. This unprecedented use of the shadow study technique districtwide is described in the following section.

The Shadow Studies

Rationale
There are many aspects that can be studied when a school district is attempting to implement a comprehensive program of improvement and reform. The Minneapolis school district developed pre- and post-assessments to monitor academic progress. A rubric was also developed to help schools assess their progress at implementing the Platform recommendations.¹ However, the LWVM wanted to include a different dimension to the transformation efforts of the school district. The LWVM wanted to study the observable changes in classroom practices in keeping with the Platform recommendations. They wanted to gather vital information that comes from focusing on the life within the institution, on the lived culture, on the day-to-day interactions between teachers and students and among students themselves. The shadowing technique provides this kind of information.

Shadowing is a study technique developed by Lounsbury and Marani (1964) and described in this issue by Clark and Clark (pp. 12-19). It is an effective way for observers to report what a typical day is like for students. The result is a rich tapestry of the many threads that make up the reality of student life for the middle school subjects under study. A qualitative-naturalistic-formative approach to research like a shadow study "is especially appropriate where the focus is on program improvement, facilitating more effective implementation, and exploring a variety of effects on participants" (Patton, 1990, p. 53).

With support from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, the LWVM in partnership with the MPS commissioned two shadow studies. The first shadow study conducted by Clark and Clark (1998) was designed to provide a baseline of information in the following areas: (a) typical day for students, (b) strategies and techniques teachers were using to teach, (c) extent that students were engaged in learning, (d) typical day for teachers and principals, (e) classroom and school environments, (f) student, teacher, principal, and family/community liaisons' perceptions of their schools and their work.

With the publication of the Platform for Effective Middle Grades Education in the Minneapolis Public Schools in 1998, the LWVM commissioned a second shadow study in March 2000 that would replicate the 1998 study.² The purpose of the second study was to provide data that would indicate the level of progress made since the first shadow study, and to determine the extent to which the eight Belief Statements from the Platform are being translated into practice in the classrooms of middle level students.

Implementing a districtwide shadow study
The use of shadow studies in middle schools is not new (Lounsbury & Johnston, 1985; Lounsbury & Johnston, 1988; Lounsbury & Clark, 1990). However, the literature reveals that shadow studies are usually conducted within one classroom or perhaps within one level of one school or district. Conducting two middle level shadow studies in all three middle grades across an entire school district, especially an urban district the size of Minneapolis, was unprecedented. In order to accomplish a shadow study of this magnitude, an invitation was extended by the LWVM to various community organizations in the city of Minneapolis requesting volunteers to participate in the shadow studies. More than 100 volunteers responded to the League's invitation for each study. The League provided the study volunteers with training in the shadow study process as well as other pertinent information relating to the successful implementation of a shadow study.

Through the organizational efforts of the League, a combined total of 127 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students, 46 teachers, and 23 principals were shadowed in 23 middle schools. Close to 600 classrooms were visited as the shadowers followed the students during their daily schedules.

At the end of the studies, each shadower conducted a focused interview with the shadowed students, teachers, and principals. Twenty-three Family/Community Liaisons were also interviewed as part of these studies. The structured interview provided a means to gather information about student, teacher, principal, and family liaison perceptions of middle level education in the Minneapolis Public Schools. Each shadower was also asked to write his or her impressions and reactions to the shadowing experience. On the last day of the studies, shadowers were provided with the opportunity to attend a debriefing meeting where they could exchange ideas, reactions, and impressions with other shadowers about the study.

Analysis of the data gathered during the shadow study was done using a triangulation of data sources. Independent reviewers analyzed observers' field notes and interview responses of the students, teachers, family/community liaisons, and principals. Principal investigators used pre-assigned coding systems from former shadow studies as well as other emergent categories to analyze and synthesize data. In the second study, data were also analyzed using the lens of the eight Belief Statements of the Platform for Effective Middle Grades Education (Desjean-Perrotta, 2000).

Impact of the Middle School Achievement Project

Data-based decision-making
Across the nation, school systems are judged on the results of students' standardized test scores. This often does not tell the whole story of the success of a school's reform efforts. Much more can be learned about the success or failure of reform by examining the culture of a school and the extent to which school members have created an environment where strategic interventions are supported and sustained. Shadow studies provide this type of data.

Data gathered through the shadow studies help guide the MPS district in its discussions and planning as it continues to improve education for its middle level students. For example, one of the findings of the first study indicated the lack of a clearly articulated vision for the middle grades. This recommendation resulted in the creation of the Platform. The data from the first study also suggested other significant needs that called for attention including a deeper understanding of the technical components of a good middle level program such as teaming, looping, advisory periods, and integrated curriculum. This data provided direction to the district committees charged with improving the program in these areas. Another direct result of the study and the efforts of the LWVM is the creation of the Family/Community Liaison position in every middle school to address the issue of lack of parent involvement in middle level education.

The advantage of conducting two identical shadow studies within a short time frame is that it allows relevant comparisons to be made that indicate areas of growth and areas still in need of improvement. District-level and building-level personnel are able to make informed decisions guided by data that gives evidence of how things really are in the schools as experienced by the students and faculty rather than by guesswork and emotion. The data also provide the superintendent and other district-level personnel with valuable information regarding individual schools. They are able to identify specific needs of each middle level program and provide the scaffolding necessary to support continued school improvement at each campus.

Because of the efforts of a community-based organization like the LWVM, the MPS now have substantive documentation indicating that the Minneapolis Public Schools are well on their way to meeting the goals set forth in the Platform. For example, the second study revealed a strong focus on core curriculum, improved teaching strategies, and schedule changes to accommodate the needs of young adolescents. Class sizes were reduced to facilitate advisory periods, block scheduling, and looping. More students report feeling challenged in their course work than in the first study. Students also feel cared for and safe in their environment. There is clearly an evolution in the teachers' understanding and implementation of specific components of middle grades reform since the first study was conducted.

Implementing change in a school district the size of Minneapolis is a challenging task. In addition to providing information on the strengths of the middle level reform movement in this district, the data from the second LWVM study also shows areas still needing attention. Some of the recommendations from the second study include more parent involvement, more planning time for faculty teams, the utilization of more engaging instructional strategies, and more consistency in the use of advisory periods.²

Sharing the responsibility
Believing that public schools should receive full financial and moral support from the community, the Minneapolis Public Schools and the LWVM chose to make public the results of the shadow studies in order to help the community understand the needs of the public schools (League of Women Voters of Minneapolis, 1998, 2000). Many of the state's major newspapers and television and radio stations disseminated the results of both studies, lending credibility to the importance of creating more appropriate programs for the middle schools in the city. The result of this public relations effort is an increased show of interest and support by the community at large for the district's reform efforts. Another benefit is the boost in morale among school personnel knowing they are not alone on their journey towards a model program for middle school students.

Civic and educational organizations within the community are now engaged in important conversations about middle grades education in the city schools. Parents of middle school students are encouraged by the efforts of the district and the community and are beginning to show an increased effort to become part of the middle school improvement movement. Through the efforts of the LWVM, the message that education is everyone's responsibility has been widely disseminated throughout the Minneapolis community. The result is greater awareness and support from community organizations and parents for the work of district personnel on behalf of its middle school students.

Conclusion
From its inception, the Middle School Achievement Project has operated out of a model that values collaboration between practitioners and the community at large. The LWVM's Project is also built on the assumption that the community has a role in enhancing the knowledge base for guiding school reform policy and practice. It is this assumption that prompted the LWVM to get directly involved in the reform process of the Minneapolis school district. Leaders of the LWVM firmly believe that serving as partners with the MPS in the Middle School Achievement Project enables schools for young adolescents to become more effective in achieving the goals of the Platform. By providing an objective look at the district's transformational efforts through a pair of lenses different from those normally used to judge the success or failure of school reform, the LWVM hoped to expand the knowledge base for middle school reform in their community.

The leaders of the League of Women Voters are to be congratulated for their commitment to improving middle level education in the schools of Minneapolis. Much credit should also be given to the leaders of the MPS who, in their wisdom, saw the value of opening their schools to public scrutiny. This willingness to involve the community so personally in its reform efforts made an important statement about the district's seriousness of purpose in improving the middle level programs for all of their students. The Middle School Achievement Project demonstrates what can happen when community members join together to provide some of the leadership for school reform. This kind of school/community partnership ensures the continued progress of the Minneapolis middle school reform movement because the community is no longer a silent partner in the reform efforts, but a strong, active, vocal advocate for middle level reform.

Notes
^1. For information on the rubric used by the public schools:

Cheryl Creecy
Minneapolis Public Schools
807 NE Broadway
Minneapolis, MN 55413
612-668-0140

². To obtain copies of the executive summary of the study:

Carol Green, Office Manager
LWVMPLS
Young Quinlan Bldg.
81 S. Ninth St., Suite 335
Minneapolis, MN 55402
612-333-6319
612-333-6310 (fax)
cgreen@lwvmpls.org

References

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Desjean-Perrotta, B. (2000). Program for student achievement Minneapolis middle schools phase II. Unpublished report. San Antonio, TX: University of Texas at San Antonio.

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Lipsitz, J. Mizell, M. H., Jackson, A., & Austin, L. M. (1997). Speaking with one voice: A manifesto for middle grades reform. Phi Delta Kappan, 78, 533-540.

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Lounsbury, J., & Johnston, J. (1985). How fares the ninth grade? Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals.

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Lounsbury, J. H., & Marani, J. (1964). The junior high school we saw: One day in the eighth grade. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

Manning, L. (1993). Developmentally appropriate middle schools . Wheaton, MD: Association for Childhood Education International.

Minneapolis Board of Education. (1998). A Platform for effective middle grades education in the Minneapolis public schools. Minneapolis, MN: Minneapolis Public Schools.

Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Blanche Desjean-Perrotta teaches in the College of Education and Human Development, University of Texas, San Antonio. E-mail: joliblanch@aol.com