“David is escalating,” the office announced through my classroom intercom, just as I was about to get started on my lunch.

“Okay,” I replied, reluctantly leaving my turkey sandwich behind. “I’m on my way.”

David, to put it simply, was a difficult student. He could be aggressive, defiant, and lacking in empathy for his classmates. David had been suspended six times in the three years he had been at our school, and the first few months of fourth grade had been rough for both of us.

I knew if we were going to make it through the year, I’d need to focus on building our relationship. So, I had jumped in wholeheartedly, putting in a lot of effort. After six weeks, I’d thought things were finally improving. Until today.

The post The Secret to a Quiet Lunch Break: Building Student Relationships appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

The first six weeks of a new school year are essential. In middle school classrooms, those weeks are not just a warm-up. Rather, they are the foundation on which the entire school year is built. What happens during this crucial time period can make or break the year for both students and teachers alike.

Every grade level benefits from strong starts, but middle school presents unique challenges due to shifting identities, emotional rollercoasters, and growing independence. Therefore, a clear, consistent, and relationally rich approach to the first six weeks is paramount.

The post The First Six Weeks: Laying the Foundation for a Successful Middle School Year appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

The U.S. Department of Education’s recent cancellation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for 17-year-olds has sparked legitimate concerns about lost data. This long-term trend assessment hasn’t been conducted for this age group since 2012, and education researchers are right to be troubled about missing another critical measurement point in understanding academic recovery.

But here’s the reality: while the NAEP data would have been valuable, we don’t need to wait for it to know that our high school students face significant challenges. The evidence is already clear from attendance data and student surveys that reveal concerning patterns about our oldest students.

A Growing Attendance Crisis

The mid-year attendance data from SchoolStatus’s analysis of over one million K–12 students tells a compelling story. As students progress through high school, their attendance and engagement dramatically decline. The 2024–25 chronic absenteeism rate for 12th graders stands at 27.55%—meaning nearly one-third of seniors are missing at least 10% of school days. This represents a 1.1% increase from the 2023–24 school year, when the rate was 27.25%.

Even more concerning is the clear regression among 10th–12th graders compared to younger students. While elementary and middle school students show improving attendance trends, high schoolers are moving in the opposite direction. Looking at the specific data, 10th graders saw their chronic absenteeism rise from 26.04% to 26.53% (a 1.88% increase), 11th graders from 26.33% to 27.05% (a 2.73% increase), and 12th graders from 27.25% to 27.55% (a 1.10% increase). This pattern stands in stark contrast to grades 2–6, which saw chronic absenteeism rates decrease by an average of 11.5% during the same period.

Disconnection Between School and Real Life

The story doesn’t improve when we look beyond attendance data. YouthTruth’s recent Civic Empowerment report surveying over 115,000 high school students reveals a fundamental disconnection between students and their education. Only 44% of high school students believe they can make a difference in their school, community, or world—a critical indicator of student engagement and agency.

Students explicitly identify academics as disconnected from real-world concerns and describe this disconnect as a barrier to engagement rather than a pathway to it. Their survey responses paint a picture of young people who see little relevance between their coursework and the issues that matter to them.

The Adult-Student Relationship Gap

Perhaps most telling is what YouthTruth has found about relationships between students and educators. In their 2023 report, only 22% of secondary students say that many or all of their teachers make an effort to understand what their lives are like outside of school—a dramatic decline from 43% during spring 2020 and the lowest percentage recorded in their research.

This relational disconnect matters. When students don’t feel seen or understood by the adults in their schools, it undermines their sense of belonging and engagement. Research consistently shows that strong, supportive relationships with adults at school are one of the most powerful factors in promoting regular attendance.

Addressing What We Already Know

What these data sources collectively show is that our high schoolers are increasingly disengaged—not just from academics but from the broader purpose of their education. They’re physically absent from classrooms at alarming rates and psychologically disconnected from their learning experiences and the adults who guide them.

The canceled NAEP assessment would have provided additional confirmation of these trends through achievement data, but we already have enough information to know we’re facing a serious crisis with our oldest students. The data patterns are clear and consistent across multiple measures.

Moving Forward with the Data We Have

Rather than lamenting the lost NAEP data, educators and policymakers should focus on leveraging the rich information we already have to implement solutions. This means deploying comprehensive attendance management systems that flag at-risk students early, creating more engaging learning opportunities that connect academics to real-world concerns, and intentionally building stronger relationships between students and educators.

The real tragedy isn’t missing a data point—it’s failing to act on the data we already have. Our 17-year-olds are telling us clearly through their attendance patterns and survey responses that something isn’t working. We don’t need another test to confirm the obvious: addressing the high school engagement crisis requires immediate attention and decisive action before another cohort of students slips away.

The post What Do We Already Know About Our High Schoolers? appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

By Kelly Rossetti and Amber Venoutsos

Some of the most remarkable experiences of being an educator include watching students grow as individuals, helping them open their eyes to new ideas, and witnessing their excitement around learning. But as elementary teachers at Hazardville Memorial School in Enfield, CT, we are also all too familiar with the difficult, sometimes heartbreaking moments experienced by our students, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The many pressures of academic demands and school expectations can be an overwhelming experience for many students, not to mention the struggles they may be dealing with outside of the classroom. Often, the first indicator that something is off is a decline in academic performance. With disinterest in schoolwork and aggressive behavior on the rise at our school, we decided to get creative and take action.

The post The Importance of Taking a “PAWS” for Our Students appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

By Megan Harding

“Teacher, can you tie my shoe?” inquires a five-year-old as she jabs you repeatedly with her pointer finger, indicating that she desperately needs your attention. Later, after a different five-year-old has been in the bathroom for several minutes, you call out to her and ask, “Sweetie, are you having tummy troubles?” Her response: “No, I’m having bottom problems!” Later still, while listening to another kid tell a story about something that happened earlier in the day, you try not to laugh when they inadvertently mix up the term “took a spill” with “took a dump.”

If you can relate to any of these moments, you probably are, or have been, a primary teacher. And you are exhausted!

The post Why I Became a Middle School Teacher appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

I have worked as a secondary teacher since 2019 and have previously taught both middle school and high school English. In the past, I used to envy elementary teachers for only having to remember the names of 30 students each school year. When I first started teaching, I struggled with keeping track of 3–4 times as many student names per year—and even per semester sometimes!

I currently have a school principal who believes the most effective teachers are those who form meaningful relationships with their students, and I agree. As teachers, our brains need to fire on all four cylinders in order to thrive. If we can remove the hurdle of pairing a large number of names to faces quickly, then we can have the brain power left to be the most effective teachers we can be, making a positive first impression with our students and setting ourselves up for a successful school year.

Over the years, I’ve developed the following steps to help myself remember the names of 90 students or more in less than a week. These tips can be used by any type of teacher at any level, and even by the office staff and librarians who try to get to know every student in the entire school.

The post 6 Steps for Remembering Students’ Names in Less than a Week appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

I have been a public school counselor for 18 years, and during that time I’ve worked in every type of environment. My current position is at a middle school of around 1,700 students, where African American students make up almost 12 percent of the population.

In this role, I primarily address and have been trusted with the task of helping Black students (and white/Caucasian teachers) navigate the challenges of race and culture. Students want to know how they can have a voice in their diverse community, and teachers, in turn, want to know how to address the personal, educational, and social needs of these students.

For many teachers, the hardest part is connecting with Black students when communications and behaviors are often misinterpreted or lost in translation. In the face of this disconnect, what can be done to successfully reach and teach Black students?

The post Social Dynamics and Black Culture: How to Effectively Reach and Teach Black Students appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

By Adam Stone

At McClintock Middle School in Charlotte, NC, eighth-grade English Language Arts teacher Eric Gaestel knows first-hand the importance of classroom management, and just how hard it can be to achieve.

“The purpose of us being in the classroom together is to create an environment where everybody has a fair chance of learning the material. If you have students who are being disruptive to that plan, you’re doing a disservice to everyone in the room,” he says.

The post Taming the Chaos: 10 Tips for Classroom Management appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

By Martha Beach

For the past nine years, Grade 6 students in Saskatoon, SK, have applied for one of 25 coveted spots in a special year-long program that sees them learning and growing with elders on a daily basis. This unique experience, called iGen, focuses on building intergenerational relationships; selected students will spend the entire school year in the iGen classroom, which is located in Sherbrooke Community Centre, a long-term care facility.

This exact program, delivered by teachers in partnership with Sherbrooke staff, seniors, and volunteers, is one-of-a-kind in Canada. However, the benefits of seniors and students connecting with each other is widespread. Whether through intergenerational co-housing, seniors volunteering in schools, or students volunteering in community care homes, socialization between older and younger generations benefits everyone involved.

The post Intergenerational Learning: A Way for Everyone to Shine appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

By Eric Gaestel

“Tries hard, but finds the subject difficult.” A statement that was often printed on my report card as a kid.

I came to school fully ready to learn, but still I struggled to keep up with my peers academically. Even though I was so young, my mind was consumed by thoughts of my perceived lack of ability to succeed and this deeply affected my self-esteem. Once a young person becomes convinced that they will never be successful, no amount of academic remediation will help.

What did help was having teachers who took the time to get to know me and understand where I was coming from, and who chose to be a positive influence on my school experience. Teachers like Mr. Prail, my 8th grade social studies teacher, not only inspired me as a student, but also influenced my decision to become a middle school teacher. In fact, what he did is exactly what I strive to do now: form positive relationships with my students.

The post Building Blocks That Matter: Forming Positive Relationships with Students and Families appeared first on TEACH Magazine.