This post is written in memory of Jane D. Baker (1927-2013), a colleague who modeled the lesson that it's neither the years nor the mileage that count in effective teaching, but the passion and the love.

In the 1980s independent schools were falling all over each other to turn their middle grades--five through eight, roughly--into middle schools. The model was developmental, with built-in advisories, special programs in "wellness," dedicated time and space, and highly collaborative teacher cultures.

Our models came overwhelmingly from public schools. The middle school movement seems to have started in biggish, relatively affluent suburbs with robust public systems, and it hit neighboring independent schools like a juggernaut, spreading fast.

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