The teachers at the Magnet Middle School have ongoing professional development programs to further enhance their skills in working with young adolescents' development, instructional practices, and parent involvement. The teachers are empowered to work in teams and teach students heterogeneously. Teachers working on our school interdisciplinary units are provided the opportunity to team with their colleagues to develop and implement the unit. Interdisciplinary units foster the peer interaction among the teachers and discussion of real curriculum issues.

Critical Friends

The interdisciplinary team organization is a central feature for our effective middle school. They are part of the Critical Friends Groups which is affiliated with the National School Reform Program and is designed to build the capacity of educators as they work to improve their student's achievement. One member of the team is trained as the coach to facilitate the monthly meetings and to support their colleagues as they work to discover ways to improve their practice and then try out these new methods in their classrooms. These activities lead the teachers to become more reflective about their teaching with the end result of improving student achievement. As facilitators and coaches, the teachers recognize and value a variety of teaching and learning styles.