Access to facilities and instructional materials
The importance of adequate instructional materials was highlighted by the Williams case (Eliezer Williams et al. v. State of California et al.). It calls for public schools to provide students with equal access to instructional materials, safe and decent school facilities, and qualified teachers. Likewise, the Recommendations of the Commission on Technology in Learning California K-12 Education Technology Plan (2003) (PDF; 355KB; 43pp.) call for schools to provide students with access to modern technology, including computers, software, and the Internet. Last, but not least, a review of California’s content standards found that they “assume that all students have access to quality facilities and instructional materials, ranging from laboratory equipment and sophisticated measuring instruments to well-stocked libraries and media centers.”1
In the Spotlight
Canyon Middle School (Outside Source), a Schools to Watch™-Taking Center Stage 2007 model, Castro Valley Unified School District. Canyon’s computer labs make use of an individual handheld response system to facilitate the interaction of all students—even those who lack confidence to participate in regular class discussions. In addition, mobile computer labs give all students access to the Internet for research projects and enrichment such as a stock market game, historical simulations, and English language arts sources.
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Strategies Common to Effective Middle Grades Programs
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Access to grade-level, standards-based instruction
Footnote
1 William S. Koski and Hillary Anne Weis, “What Educational Resources Do Students Need to Meet California’s Educational Content Standards? A Textual Analysis of California’s Educational Content Standards and Their Implications for Basic Educational Conditions and Resources" (Outside Source), Teachers College Record, Vol. 106, No. 10 (2004), 1907-1935.