What is the Middle Grades Grant?

The purpose of this project, Middle Grades Educators Empowering Learners,is to unite a coalition of educators, including education and college of arts and sciences faculty partnered with public school educators, to build the region’s capacity to ensure the success of middle grades students, particularly those who are at risk of being unsuccessful in classrooms and traditional school environments.  The project will be focused on improving the quality of teachers in the critical areas of literacy, mathematics and science, ensuring that the teachers are highly qualified with the critical content knowledge and pedagogical skills to teach their subject matter.  Of equal importance, the project will provide intense professional development using a rigorous, interdisciplinary approach to thinking and learning which creates a learning environment that harnesses the talents, energy, and minds of middle level learners.

Thirty educators will directly benefit from the professional development made available through this NC QUEST grant and the Middle Grades Educators Empowering Learners project team.  Teams of educators (including core subject teachers, an additional teacher who works across the school population and a school administrator) from three middle schools in two high need districts, Onslow and Jones County, will participate in the program.  It is anticipated that this effort will directly improve educational outcomes and experiences for approximately 1,867 students attending the three middle schools.  The intense professional development provided for the Middle Grades Educators Empowering Learners core school teams will allow for the benefits to be expanded throughout the school as these leaders take the knowledge, skills, and strategies back to their colleagues and provide the mentoring and support needed to infuse the model throughout the school.  One hundred and twenty-seven other teachers in these partnering schools will indirectly benefit from this effort.