ENGAGEMENT 2: MIDDLE LEVEL ORGANIZATION

As an emerging professional teacher you should understand the structure of your school community. There are many
people that need to work together in a school to foster a positive learning environment. From the receptionist in the
main office to the teachers in the classrooms—each person has a role in creating an effective middle school. Together,
they help the school function successfully.

Talk to your supervisor on how to work with other interns at your school to complete this engagement.

Take some time to informally interview three individuals from the chart on the following pages about their roles in the
school. If possible, take 5-10 minutes to observe or shadow them in their role before talking to them. Think about the
organizational components of middle level philosophy (i.e. tenets of This We Believe) and how each one works
successfully to make that happen in their role.

Focus your questions on the “Topics for Investigation” listed in the chart on the next page. You might ask each person
whom you interview the following:
● Will you describe your role for me?
● What opportunities for us to collaborate might exist?
● What programs/practices in the school have been successful and supportive? How do you think they meet the
needs of young adolescent learners?
Engagement 2 Rubric
Criteria 1 3 5
AMLE Standards Candidate fails to Candidate has a general Candidate clearly
Alignment communicate the nature sense of middle level demonstrates a thorough
and importance of middle organization and understanding of middle
(AMLE-3a, b; level organization and philosophy that is level organization and
5a,d) philosophy. Connection connected to AMLE philosophy that is
to the school context or elements. There is a need developmentally
AMLE elements is for a greater responsive and attends to
clearly absent. understanding of the the needs of a diverse
importance of these student body. S/he
components, as the understands that there is a
summary focuses only variety of organizational
on how the school is patterns that serve young
organized. adolescent learners.
Interviews Candidate interviews less Candidate interviews at Candidate interviews 3
(submit chart with than 2 members of the least 2 members of the members of the faculty.
reflective faculty. Chart is mostly faculty. Chart is mostly Chart is complete and
summary) incomplete and lacks complete and contains thorough.
supporting details. some detail
Reflective Candidate fails to provide Candidate provides a Candidate provides a
Summary a summary of the complete but superficial cohesive synthesis of their
(Minimum: 2 pg., interviews. There are summary of the interviews and reflections
12pt Times New instances of incomplete interviews and how the about how the information
Roman, Double information. information. gathered will inform their
Spaced) professional role.
Communication Product has Product has some minor Product has few or no
frequent/serious problems with sentence problems with sentence
problems with sentence construction, word construction, word usage,
construction, word usage, usage, spelling, and/or spelling, and/or other
spelling, and/or other other writing writing conventions.
writing conventions. conventions.
 Middle School Personnel
Possible Topic(s) for
Position Name
Investigation
Teacher of the Year Ms. Kouba Most helpful “shortcuts” and
most helpful classroom
management advice
Media Ms. Donovan Ways to integrate with the
Specialist/assistant content area(s)
Literacy Coach Ms. Logan Working with teachers to
create a productive and
healthy work and learning
space
Important Notes
● Classroom management: quality and quantity
of work
● Teaching philosophy: choice, understanding
students
● Duties of teacher of the year: meetings
● She has multiple duties in her role that aren’t
exactly what media specialists would typically
do.
● She does try to work with faculty and
students in order to promote the media center
and get students (and teachers) engaged with
the new materials she has provided.
● It is part of her position to find new and up
to date materials for the media center.
● Role in the school: Professional
Development
● Background in education
● Working together: PD, any questions I might
have
Reflection:

For my Engagement 2, I decided to interview the media specialist, the teacher of the year,

and the literacy coach. I chose to interview these people because of different reasons. I chose the

media specialist because I have always been interested in media centers. I used to help out at my

high school’s center and I was thinking of even going to college to become a specialist. I also

think it is so important for students to know how to use the center to the fullest potential. I

interviewed the literacy coach because I attend the professional development meetings with my

coaching teacher on Tuesdays! I love how she controls the room and how she navigates teachers’

concerns. Lastly, I chose the teacher of the year because if the person has this title it is for a

reason. I wanted to find out what strategies this person had and what they do in the classroom

that is so noteworthy.

The first person I interviewed was the media specialist, Ms. Donovan. What was

supposed to be a short interview ended up being an hour and 45 minutes! I learned so much

about her role in the school and how I can help her. Her role in the school is a little different than

what other media specialists do. She not only helps to run the actual media center, but she also

helps with Chromebooks, leads some professional development meetings, is the middle person

between the district and the teachers for technology, and the creator of the website. Ms. Donovan

has so many things to balance and still made time to have this interview. While I was asking her

questions, she had multiple people, both teachers and students, come in with questions. She had

closed down the media center so that we wouldn’t be interrupted, but like most things, that did

not go to plan. I learned about how to utilize the media center in my lessons and how I can

potentially help her with the media center. She told me that when the recession hit, they cut back

to only having one media specialist. This means when she is going to different classes and
conducting meetings, she has to close down the media center. This limits the students' ability to

use the media center.

The second person I interviewed was the teacher of the year. Coincidentally, this

happened to be my coaching teacher, Ms. Kouba! I asked her about classroom management skills

and what she uses in her classroom. Even though I am there every week, I still had questions

about strategies she used to manage her classroom. She says that she makes sure the content of

the work plan, or the agenda they give to the students, have the correct amount of work and the

right type of work. She says one of the key points to keep in mind is that when students become

disengaged that is when behavioral problems start to arise. This is why educators need to

constantly be 20 steps ahead of the middle schoolers and be proactive; this means to have

meaningful and engaging work. Ms. Kouba also gave me some tips on how to be proactive.

Some of these tips include proximity, wait time, nonverbals, and one on one conversations. She

made a point to say to not call out a student. I agree with this because as I am in the classroom, I

will notice students just shut down after being told what to do. I think a way to go about students

shutting down would be to conference with the students afterward and check in with them. I

think this also goes along with knowing your students. Ms. Kouba then explained her teaching

philosophies which correlate with what I have learned in my University classes. She believes that

students should have choices, which is why she gives them multiple readings that they can

choose from. She also believes that data should be used to drive instruction. Data helps teachers

see where students are at and what assistance they may need. In addition, in standard 4 of the

AMLE standards, it talks about using data from student assessments “to inform teaching”

(AMLE, p. 12) I know from previous classes that data is very tricky and sometimes hard to
navigate. This ties into why I also interviewed the literacy coach, so that I can know how

teachers use data to help their students.

Interviewing the literacy coach, Ms. Logan, was on my list from the start. I was so

interested to not only learn about her role in the school but also how she got to where she is. I

learned that she started out as a teacher and then got her masters in curriculum and assessment.

She became a math coach and then went back to teaching and then learned about the position at

Sandhills Middle School. She states that one of the main questions she gets from colleagues is if

she liked teaching or coaching better. Her answer is that she likes all of them differently; having

connections with the students is amazing but helping teachers is also equally rewarding. Ms.

Logan’s role in the school is to be a resource to the teachers and help with professional

development. Whenever I am present for PD with the group of ELA and SS teachers, I always

learn so much about the school and how it runs. She helps teachers plan out curriculum, look at

Bloom’s Taxonomy, and really examine their teaching. She also shows teachers new theories

and practices. When I asked how teachers respond to new ideas, she admitted some might be

hesitant, but if one teacher starts using a new technique and it works, other teachers want to join

as well. I thought this was interesting to say because when I asked Ms. Donovan about how

teachers react to new technology or techniques she said the same thing!

Throughout the interviews, I learned so much about the school and great teaching. I

learned that students who have stayed in this area have been to around 5 schools before coming

to SMS. Students are in constant change and procedures at schools might not always match up. I

loved this engagement because it forced me to get to know different people in the school. If it

wasn’t for this engagement I would not have made those connections.