What Serving Middle Schools Has Taught Me

Brent Brummett
Principal, Ransom Middle School, Escambia County
FASSP President

Connection with students is very important, acceptance of students is just as important, and decisions made for students is supreme. 

This month we celebrate Mid Level Education Month.  I have spent over half my career in middle schools as a teacher, assistant principal and principal.  Here are a few things I have learned along the way. 

Connection with students:

Recently a principal friend of mine went to step in as the lead administrator for a school when both administrators for that school had to be off campus.  As he walked down the hall a student asked him, “Are you our principal?" Middle school students are all about connection. As the leader of a middle school it is very important that students know you, see you, and respect you. This can be strategic. Here are a number of ways that I have accomplished this.

1.      Go to the lunchroom. You might think that you want to avoid the lunchroom, but this is a great place to visit with students. Once, there were several young men who could have potentially caused problems. I decided to visit their lunch table every day for a week.  We talked about whatever they wanted to talk about.  Now they greet me in the hall and are quick to do what I ask. The lunchroom is also a great place to make an announcement.  When we have an important assembly coming up I go to the lunchroom to speak directly to the students and give them a “script’ for what is going to happen and what our expectations are.

2.      Do your announcements. You set the tone for your school.  There is no better place to do that than your TV show or audio announcement system.  Whether it is once a week or daily, your announcements should be positive and upbeat and include you when possible.

3.      Stand in the halls. Each morning I stand in the hall and greet as many students as I can.  I don’t just stand there, I say “good morning”, maybe more than 30 times.  At the beginning of the year, they just look at me.  By the end they say, “Good morning Mr. Brummet” and some stop to tell me some important news or just stop to get a hug. 

4.      Advisory – our new idea. We expanded what used to be our homeroom time to 15 minutes calling this time advisory.  We assigned every student to an advisory teacher.  The student will stay with this advisory teacher all three years the student is in middle school.  In essence this advisory group becomes the students “family” for the three years they are here.  This helps with one of the problems middle school teachers face: how to make positive contact with parents and families.  Instead of trying to make a positive connection with the 130 students a teacher has in their classes, the advisory teacher can concentrate on their 25 students.  The advisory teacher becomes the middle school student’s advocate.  As the principal, I visit a different advisory group every morning. 

Acceptance of students:

Middle school years can be some of the toughest years of a student’s life.  I once heard someone say that middle school students want to be “different, just like everyone else.”  Middle school students are reaching for independence while continually seeking acceptance by their peers. 

I have said to my faculty a number of times that if you don’t like middle schoolers than you might want to look for another job.  Students can sense right away if you don’t like them.  Here are few tips I have for showing acceptance to our students.

1. Avoid sarcasm. I once believed that everyone knew this until the subject surfaced in a conversation with my peers. I know that some people believe that they can use sarcasm effectively, but my experience has been that a positive, encouraging, truthful word has much more power in affecting a student's life than a sarcastic joke. If you have a chance to interact with a student why risk hurting them? Many times we hurt students with words and they never tell us.

2. Listen. When a student takes a moment to talk to you stop what you doing, look them in the eye (and smile if you can), and pay attention to what they are saying. What a middle school student says may not seem important to you but it is important to them. When you take the time to listen you build rapport and they will listen when you need to speak.

3. Compliment the purple hair. What I mean is the old cliché don’t sweat the small stuff. Find a way to be kind. 

Decisions made for students: Reducing out-of-school suspension

Linda Cliatt Wayman said, “If your going to lead, LEAD!”

These are words I live by.  As we face tough decisions I think of these words.  Middle school years are formative, important years that deserve leaders who put the middle school student first. 

This became important recently as we considered out of school suspensions.  There is much to consider.  As we weighed out the options we looked at the middle school child.  What lesson did the student learn by being sent home?  What is the student most likely doing while they are home?  What important instruction is the student missing?  How far behind will the student become?  Our conclusion was that, although the negative behaviors needed to be corrected, out of school suspension in most cases is not the best choice.  We sought permission from our superintendent to go to Out of School Suspension only as a last resort. This goes against current practices but I believe it is what is best for students.

The middle school world is always changing.  Middle schools need leaders who are creative, fearless, and who put students first. 

Finally, let me conclude with this.  My three-year-old granddaughter loves to eat only the middle of the Oreo cookie. Personally, I find the best part of a hamburger or a hotdog to be the middle.  The beginning of a story is great and so is the end but there are no good stories without a good middle.  For those of us who devote our daily lives to middle school we are proud to celebrate Middle Level Education Month. We love the middle and the middle school student.