THE NATIONAL FORUM

There are three types of membership: • Advocating Member (Individual) : $39 • Contributing Member (Individual) : $69 • Institutional Member (School) : $99/year or $275/3-years

Membership renewals occur on the date of the initial enrollment. For Institutional Memberships, schools have the option of selecting a one-year ($99) or a three-year ($275) Institutional Membership.

Institutional Membership with the Forum is a whole-school designation available to schools that believe in and support the mission and vision of the Forum and that include one or more of the following grades – 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.

Grades 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 comprise the middle grades, and the vast majority of young adolescents (those students aged 10-15) are in these grades. Since the middle grades and young adolescents are the foci of the Forum’s work, it made sense that the Forum should limit (at least initially) Institutional Membership to those schools with one or more of the middle grades.

Yes, but they must believe in and support the Mission and Vision of the Forum and include one or more of the following grades – 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.

Yes, but they must believe in and support the Mission and Vision of the Forum and include one or more of the following grades – 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.

Institutional Membership differs in several ways from currently existing memberships (Contributing Memberships and Advocating Memberships): • First, Institutional Membership is a whole-school membership while the Forum’s two other memberships are for individuals only. • Second, the Institutional Membership targets schools that believe in the Forum’s Mission and Vision and have one or more of the following grades – 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9; Contributing and Advocating Memberships are for individuals who may or may not be in a School to Watch but who wish to be more active and involved in the Forum’s effort to “accelerate middle grades reform”. • Third, the Institutional Membership category provides the Forum with a mechanism to engage and communicate with a broader constituency of middle-level practitioners (nationally and internationally) than do the existing membership classifications.

The benefits of being an Institutional Member include: • The personal satisfaction of supporting the Forum in its efforts to speak with a common voice to leverage research, policy, leadership, and replicable practices to drive middle grades reform (being part of a “movement”) • Opportunities to give back to the profession (paying it forward) • Periodic reports on Forum projects to accelerate middle-grades reform • Special rates for Forum-sponsored activities • Access to all Forum publications, reports, and white papers • Access to a national network of middle-level schools that shares a common philosophy, mission, and vision.

Technically no, since Institutional Membership is available only to an eligible school and not to an individual. That being said, a person could be both a Contributing Member and a member of a school with an Institutional Membership.

Not at this time, but given the benefits of membership it is highly recommended that every School to Watch be an Institutional Member of the Forum.

Yes, as long as they believe in and support the Mission and Vision of the Forum and that include one or more of the following grades – 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.

No. Institutional Memberships are only for schools that believe in and support the Mission and Vision of the Forum and include one or more of the following grades – 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.