VAMLE Newsletter
July 2025 Edition
Our VAMLE Board
VAMLE is excited to announce that Brenda Kendall, 7/8th grade Humanities teacher at the St. Johnsbury School, will be joining us as a member! Brenda brings incredible expertise as a veteran middle level educator, and she is continuously expanding her experience and knowledge through a range of professional learning and growth. Welcome, Brenda!
Our VAMLE Board now includes:
President - Melissa Muzzy, Vergennes Middle Level
President Elect - Andrea Gratton, Brownington Central School
Past President - Nancy Doda, Middle Grade PD Coach
Secretary - Jen MacDonald, People's Academy Middle Level
Treasurer - Rachel Hamm Vaughan, Special Olympics VT
Board Member - Meg O'Donnell, Shelburne Community School
Board Member - Bonnie Johnson-Aten
Board Member - Carrie Gilman, Montpelier Roxbury Schools
Board Member - Brenda Kendall, St. Johnsbury School
Board Member - Gary Russell, FH Tuttle Middle School
Ex Officio Board Member - Ryan Parkman, VT Agency of Education
Executive Director - Kyle Chadburn, Orleans Central Supervisory Union
Interested in becoming part of the VAMLE board? We would love to have you! Our goal is to represent diverse perspectives in middle level education across Vermont, so please reach out and express your interest at any time!
The beginning of the school year is a critical opportunity for middle level teachers to intentionally establish a classroom culture where every young adolescent feels known, valued, safe, and connected. The Association for Middle Level Education emphasizes that effective middle school programs are designed around the developmental and cultural needs of young adolescents and that relationships are central to this work. Because students in the middle grades are experiencing significant social, emotional, and cognitive changes, teachers should prioritize relationship-building alongside academic expectations from the very first day. Simple practices such as greeting students by name at the door, learning about their interests through advisory check ins or simple surveys, listening to their experiences, and communicating genuine care can establish trust and belonging.
Building strong classroom culture also requires giving students meaningful opportunities to know one another and to see themselves as valued members of the community. AMLE resources recommend intentionally creating opportunities for students to interact, collaborate, and develop positive relationships rather than relying solely on traditional “getting-to-know-you” and "icebreaker" activities. Community circles, team-building experiences, collaborative learning structures, and authentic student discussions can help students practice listening, empathy, communication, and respect. Teachers should also make space for students' diverse identities, cultures, interests, family experiences, and perspectives, intentionally recognizing these differences as strengths that enrich the classroom community. A particularly important practice is helping students develop community agreements together: students can identify what they need from one another in order to feel safe and learn effectively, while the teacher facilitates the process and establishes clear boundaries. These agreements should be based on a shared set of values that are clearly defined by the students with guidance from the teacher. Values-based expectations, rather than compliance-based rules, set the tone for a classroom culture that is collaborative, built on the strengths of all, and centered around human dignity.
Positive classroom culture does not mean avoiding difficult conversations. Instead, shared expectations should provide the predictability and safety that middle level students need to dig into those conversations. Students thrive when they know what to expect, understand that their voices matter, and experience consistency across classrooms and school settings. Teachers should explicitly teach routines and procedures, model desired behaviors, clarify what success looks like, and consistently reinforce shared expectations. It is imperative that we provide specific language that can be used to "call each other in" when mistakes are made and expectations are not upheld as well. Importantly, teachers should remember that culture is not established during the first week and then finished. It is continually built through daily interactions, consistent responses, restorative practices, and opportunities for students to contribute to the community.
Ultimately, the most important thing for middle level teachers to remember is that belonging is foundational to learning. This We Believe calls for schools that are inviting, supportive, and safe, with meaningful relationships and adult advocacy at the center of students' experiences. Every student should have at least one caring adult who knows them well and can support both their academic and personal development. Teachers can put this principle into practice by intentionally learning students' names and interests, formally and informally checking in with them throughout the day, providing multiple ways for them to participate and demonstrate their strengths, celebrating their growth, and refusing to give up on students when challenges arise. A strong classroom community should communicate a consistent message: You are known here, you are valued here, you belong here, and you are capable of learning and growing here. When teachers invest in that culture from the beginning and continue nurturing it throughout the year, they create the conditions for stronger engagement, healthier relationships, productive collaboration, and deeper academic learning.
Here are a few resources and tools to help you get started with building a strong and positive classroom community at your school:
- Informational Article: "The Great Respect Deception: Setting Values-Based Rules," Edutopia
- Informational Article: "Strategies for Building Culture Through Expectations," AMLE
- Resource: Call In / Call Out Guidelines to Address Situations When Expectations Are Not Upheld, Seed the Way
- Informational Article: "The Power of Community Circles", AMLE
- Practitioner Resource: "Using Circles to Build Community (and more!)," Chadburn/Gratton
- Attend the Middle Grades Collaborative's monthly "Conversations" to discuss problems of practice and strategies for overcoming them.
- Join the VAMLE board! More information about board membership can be found here on our website. We would love to have you as part of our team!
- Attend the Middle Grades Institute in June 2027!
Contact VAMLE: PLEASE NOTE A CHANGE IN THE DIRECTOR'S EMAIL ADDRESS
Kyle Chadburn (he/him)
Executive Director