• Teach a curriculum grounded in rigorous, public academic standards for what students should know and be able to do, relevant to the concerns of adolescents and based on how students learn best.
• Use instructional methods designed to prepare all students to achieve higher standards and become lifelong learners.
• Staff middle grades schools with teachers who are expert at teaching young adolescents, and engage teachers in ongoing, targeted professional development opportunities.
• Organize relationships for learning to create a climate of intellectual development and a caring community of shared educational purpose.
• Govern democratically, through direct or representative participation by all school staff members, the adults who know the students best.
• Provide a safe and healthy school environment as part of improving academic performance and developing caring and ethical citizens.
• Involve parents and communities in supporting student learning and healthy development.

See http://www.turningpts.org/; http://www.nmsa.org; http://www.mgforum.org/

View the Illinois State Board of Education proposed Middle Level standards at http://www.isbe.net/profprep/PDFs/mlcertification.pdf