Academy for Educational Development

AED is host to the National Middle Start Center, through which it












1) provides school-site professional development to teachers and administrators to improve teaching and learning; and













2) coordinates regional networks of schools, districts, universities, advocacy groups, and research and evaluation organizations that provide support and professional development to schools, as well as fosters accountability for student learning to schools in Michigan and the Mid South region.

AED plays numerous roles in the Middle Start initiative, such as conducting internal evaluation and research, developing technical assistance materials for schools, and building the capacity of state and local institutions to support and sustain middle-grades improvement.

Improvements on student test scores at Middle Start schools have earned the program national recognition:













    * Middle Start's proven track record has earned it a place in the National Catalogue of School Reform Models.














    * Middle Start is also in the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory's list of 30 most-implemented comprehensive school reform models in the United States.













    * Recently, a RAND Corporation report, Focus on the Wonder Years, cited Middle Start as a promising school improvement intervention for the middle grades.













Middle Start continues to work in its existing regions and is actively identifying regions of the country where it can extend its benefits to more students over the next five years.