Pay Attention to Girls in Middle School, AAUW Says

By Millicent Lawton

Middle school educators would do well to take their cues about the direction of school reform from the behaviors and needs of their female students, a new report says.

School programs and efforts to support the success of girls are the same as many of the techniques advocated by the school-reform movement, says the report by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation. Breaking down schools into smaller learning communities, such as teams or "houses," is one such strategy that allows students and adults to more readily get to know and care about each other. The report also endorses cooperative learning and...