Meeting in the middle: Case study of an interdisciplinary team in the first year of a reorganized middle school

This case study focuses on a four-person interdisciplinary team of sixth grade teachers in an 1100-student school during its first year of reorganization as a 6-8 middle school. Section I reviews middle school, interdisciplinary team, and change process literatures. Section II describes the school district\u27s plan, to reconfigure its 7-9 junior highs into 6-8 middle schools, followed by a detailed examination of the interdisciplinary team in question and its efforts to carry out the plan. Section III analyzes the effects of the administration\u27s decisions and leadership style and the ramifications of the team\u27s mix of secondary and elementary-trained teachers. The analysis concludes with recommendations to administrators and teachers on factors that may promote institutionalization of the interdisciplinary team concept