ABSTRACT
The teachers and principal of Noe were assigned by order of the 6th Circuit Federal Court. The school district was gerrymandered so radically to meet racial balance guidelines that Noe has no neighborhood. Approximately 40 percent of the students come from single-parent families; close to 20 percent live with a parent and stepparent. Many live in families where both parents work by necessity, not choice. In most schools for young adolescents, whether middle schools, intermediate schools, junior high schools, or grades 7 to 12 senior highs, students are organized by grade level and teachers are organized by departments. Students appear for forty-five or fifty minutes in a teacher’s classroom. Noe Middle School is highly decentralized. It is the equivalent of seven semi-autonomous schools. Teachers and students are organized in interdisciplinary teams. Each team has its own distinct personality. One team is known for its excellent reading and intramural programs.
