The nice part about being an editor of Middle School Journal is having the editorial space to discuss relevant issues within education. One challenge is that the time between the editorial being pu...

As the number of immigrants and refugees grows in the United States, the linguistic and cultural diversity that comprises the middle grades classroom continues to increase. Given the need for resources and specific attention to linguistic and cultural strategies for these populations, this three-year ethnographic study examined the schooling experiences of young adolescent immigrant and refugee students in a small town located in a rural state. Historically a homogeneous area, in the last decade this community became a multilingual/multicultural setting. This study documented the schooling experiences of participants using ethnographic methods including participant observation, interviews, and document analysis. The data describe how immigrant and refugee students internalized middle grades organizational structures such as teaming and multiage grouping. The findings suggest much variability among the students’ experiences. Implications for researchers center on expanding the current research base in middle grades practice to include a new set of voices, while implications for practitioners focus on creating a safe environment in which immigrants can express themselves and feel comfortable asking for the level of support needed.

Education can be a source of liberation or oppression (Hills-Collins & Bilge, 2016). It is within this context of understanding the power of education and building on the foundation of the middle s...