Middle Level Minute

Custer Baker is the first Indiana school to earn the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) designation "School of Distinction". There is a webinar on Monday, September 23 at 4:30 to learn more about the process. Why would this year be a great time to apply? Those who earn the designation will be honored at AMLE's 2025 conference IN INDIANAPOLIS! You can also learn more about Schools of Distinction here, or contact Katie Powell at AMLE.

Cascade Middle School earned their first redesignation as a National Forum School to Watch last spring. (Their banner has now been updated.) The Schools to Watch data system, which had been housed at the University of Illinois for research purposes, has recently migrated to a different location. If you would like to apply for this year, either for the first time or redesignation, please contact Susie Highley!

There is now a monthly newsletter about Unified Champion Schools; you can sign up here. If you have any questions, you can contact Tori Batson at Special Olympics. Plainfield Community Middle School was recognized as the biggest middle level contributor for Special Olympics Indiana last year. Also recognized at the year-end luncheon as banner winners were:

The Indiana School Counselors Association (ISCA) named Pierre Moran Middle School Counselor Tim Adams as the statewide Middle School Counselor of The Year. This honor is given to school counselors who provide outstanding service for their students, as well as achieve professional excellence. Pierre Moran MS is part of Elkhart Community Schools.
“My philosophy has always been ‘it’s not me, it’s we,’” says Adams. “As a building, as a team, it’s always ‘us.’ "

Congratulations!

For secondary schools in particular, earning IDOE STEM Certification requires heightened intention and coordination in terms of vision, scheduling and interdisciplinary collaboration. These schools have gone through the rigorous process to re-certify, which must be done every five years:

• Plainfield Community Middle School
• Cold Spring School (K-8), Indianapolis

Receiving First-Time Designation

• North Decatur Junior/Senior High School, Greensburg
• Our Lady of Grace Academy (K-8), Noblesville
• Southmont Junior High School, Crawfordsville

In 2023, a new designation was added to highlight schools that have demonstrated significant progress in creating an engaging STEM culture and empowering students to create and innovate through integrated STEM learning experiences. Each of these developing schools are continuing to establish infrastructure for sustainable, high-quality STEM education and will receive intentional, strategic support from IDOE as they progress toward STEM Certification:

• Charles N. Scott Middle School, Hammond
  
• Indiana Math & Science Academy North, Indianapolis
• Salem Middle School

View a complete list of Indiana STEM Certified schools here. Schools interested in pursuing STEM Certification can review the guidance here.

Thanks to everyone involved in MidCon24, including the presenters, Westfield Schools and Middle School staff, and our partner Keep Indiana Learning. Stay tuned for future collaborations!

On October 12, HASTI (Hoosier Assocation of Science Teachers) is providing a one-day professional development opportunity for new (1-5 years) and pre-service science teachers as well as the administration and instructional coaches who support them. We all know how hard it is to be a teacher and that having the right support network is extremely important to teacher retention. During this one-day event, Indiana teachers will lead workshop-style breakout sessions, introducing and sharing their classroom experiences and how they made it through their first five years of teaching. These workshops are focused on identifying the needs of new and pre-service teachers, sharing ideas and best practices, and, indeed, coming alongside our colleagues to build community, connection, and a network of support.

The strands included in this conference are:

• Building Relationships and Community in Your Building
• Classroom Management
• Content and Standards
• Student Engagement
• Classroom Organization

Registration and more information are available here.

One result of our collaboration with Keep Indiana Learning for #MidCon24 is a podcast series hosted by Jeff Harker, "Middle School MasterClass." The fourth episode has just dropped. Find it and future episodes at kinl.cc/podcasts.

You can also access AMLE's podcasts, "Middle School Walk and Talk," found here.

Perhaps you have read or heard about this best-selling book by Jonathan Haidt, which has earned much praise as well as criticism. The webinar description states, "Haidt will walk educators through the research on our urgent youth mental health crisis, present four norms for collective action, and outline what schools can do now to improve mental health for kids and teens."

I have attended several live webinars with Haidt and have read part of his book. He has also contributed to several podcasts, including "Making Space" recently.

You can watch this webinar live at 3 pm EDT, or you can access it and the slides later (but you must set up an edweb account to do that) There is also an ongoing online study of the book through Keep Indiana Learning.

Diffit is an AI-powered tool that helps teachers create differentiated instructional materials for their students. It can adapt any text or article to any reading level, and generate resources for any topic or video. Diffit can be used for many subjects. You can see a demonstration here.

We have touted the "On the Road with Steve Hartman" and his Kindness 101 lessons several times before. Now CBS has partnered with Character Counts to organize many of the videos with curricular materials. These videos are great to use with students in advisory, to add to SEL resources, and more. There is also a very active Facebook group that has organized many of the videos and materials. Steve Hartman himself has been an active participant, and has even gotten some material from the group!

• Inspect and Assess Student Writing. It will even create a video showing their whole process! (Cut & paste, typing, time spent on document)

• Provide Instant AI-Powered Personalized Feedback

• Create AI-Driven Curriculum, Lesson Plans, Quizzes, and Mor

• Easily Adjust Reading Levels and Translate Texts with AI

Science teacher Kyle Niemis created an all in one resource with the top most played science activities on @Quizizz all sorted into each of the main subject areas! For every single activity you'll also find:

• A link to try as a student
• A printable worksheet link

TIMES IN EDT AND FREE UNLESS NOTED

Many are available via recording.

September 23- AMLE Schools of Distinction & Successful Middle School Assessment Information Session, 4:30 pm

September 24- Free the Anxious Generation Movement: A Call for K-12 School Leaders, 3 pm

September 26- AMLE Leadership Roundtable: Fostering Belonging at the Beginning of the School Year, 4:30 pm

September 28- Navigating AI Together Conference, Noon-4 (use 'TechTrailblazers' for free registration!)

October 2- Teaching the Science of Sound Amplification Through Les Paul, The Beatles, and the Grateful Dead, 4 pm

October 2- The Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Citation: It's Complicated, 4-4:30- pm

October 7- Digital Citizenship for K-12: Thinking Outside the Box, 1 pm

October 7- Fighting Misinformation in the Age of AI: Tips and Techniques to Teach Students, 5 pm

October 12-HASTI Mini-Conference for Early Career & Preservice Teachers, Admins, 8-4 , $

October 17- Science Standards Are Not Curricula: Focusing on Student Sensemaking to Make NGSS Come Alive, 4 pm

November 1- Adjusted Deadline for Schools to Watch Applications

November 6-9- AMLE24 in Nashville, TN

November 13- Optimistic Teaming with Ben and Ben, 7 pm

November 6-8, 2025- AMLE in Indianapolis!

ONGOING EVENTS

IN LearningPartnership (Includes Wednesday PD with IDOE)

Indiana Learning Lab Workshops (Requires Sign in for Registration)

Teachers First OK2Ask Online Workshops; (Past on-demand sessions)

Keep Indiana Learning (KINL); Live Events (some $) Past Recordings/Digital Content

edWeb.net Webinars (Can watch at later date; if sponsored, "commercials" are at the end)

AMLE Podcast Series

AMLE Events (some free, some paid)

Corwin Webinars

Please note: Webinars and events mentioned in this space are not an endorsement of commercial products; on the contrary, we try to avoid listing events that appear to be commercial in nature. Every effort is made to strip social media/tracking data from provided URLs. In many cases, you can register and receive a recording later.

The only organization in Indiana devoted to promoting, improving, and supporting middle level education. We are the Indiana affiliate of the national organization AMLE, and administer the Schools to Watch program for the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform.

Join us! Membership Benefits and Application

Susie Highley, Executive Director

Shirley Wright, Consultant

FIND US:

11025 E. 25th Street, Indianapolis, IN. 46229 (Inside IASP)

FACEBOOK X (Twitter) EMAIL LinkedIN

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