Delaware Program Aims To Ease Middle School Transition

The Wilmington (DE) News Journal (12/30, Dobo) profiles a program being used at Springer Middle School in Talleyville, Delaware, called Challenge Day, in which "students and educators aimed to build trust by sharing life experiences such as intimate family secrets and pain endured at the hands of bullies. When the day ended, tissues covered the floor." The piece describes the perceived difficulties of middle school, noting that "education at this juncture is thought by experts to be key to success in high school. In June, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan highlighted the issue. 'As you know, the middle-grade years have sometimes been called the 'Bermuda Triangle' of K-12 education,' Duncan told the National Forum's Annual Schools to Watch Conference, according to a transcript of his June 23 remarks."