Thriving in the Middle School Years

March 27–28, 2025

It’s a period of rapid developmental and social shifts that can be challenging for young adolescents and their families, teachers, and communities. But as those who care for and work with students in middle school can attest, it’s also a time of joy, resilience, and an emerging sense of self.

The 2025 BU Wheelock Forum examines the deficit narrative of early adolescence that has resulted in youth ages 10–15 being overlooked, undervalued, and minimized in research, policymaking, and investment. Join us to explore the complexity of this pivotal time in adolescent development and the ways in which systems and strategies can be refocused to help students thrive.

Learn more about the 2025 BU Wheelock Forum, visit our photo gallery, or watch our YouTube playlist of recordings.

Agenda

Thursday, March 27

Keynote: Embracing YA Potential
Jason Reynolds

Fireside Chat
Jason Reynolds, Laura Jiménez, Tina Durand, and Dean Penny Bishop (moderator)

Poster Session and Book Signing

  • Exploring Data Science Through the Lens of Civics Education, Kaylene Stevens
  • What is Named (and Unnamed): Exploring Teachers’ Beliefs about Enacting Inclusion, Zach Rossetti and Christina Dobbs
  • Massachusetts School Enrollment Shifts Five Years After The Pandemic, Abigail Francis
  • “A Good Teacher Cares About How You Feel”: A Qualitative Study on Early Adolescent Students’ Views on the Characteristics of Good Teachers Pei Wang and Tina Durand
  • Investigating Advisory as a Space for Nurturing Early Adolescents’ Civic Development and Critical Consciousness, Christina Dobbs and Scott Seider

Friday, March 28

Keynote: Through the Middle: What Middle Schoolers Teach Us About Maturing through Precarity
Dr. Wendi Williams

Morning Breakout Sessions

Social and Emotional Well-Being in the Middle School Years
Jennifer Green and Katie Parodi (panel leaders), Donna Pincus, and Ziming Xuan

Enhancing Self-Efficacy and Career Identity in Middle School Youth
Scott Solberg (panel leader), Joshua Bordes, Maria Paredes, and Angelica Rodriguez

The Importance of Rigorous Middle School Math Coursework
Joshua Goodman (panel leader), Aaron Brakoniecki, Erin Hashimoto-Martell, Adrian Mims

Keynote: The World Isn’t Black and White: Supporting Critical Racial Consciousness among Middle School Students
Tina Durand and Michael Medina

Afternoon Breakout Sessions

Developing Collaborative Discourse Communities in Classrooms
Ariel Tichnor-Wagner & Kaylene Stevens (workshop leaders) and Annabel Stoler

Reading to Learn, Learning to Engage: Literacy and the Adolescent Brain
Ola Ozernov-Palchik and Lana Santoro (workshop leaders) and Sarah L. F. Burnham

Writing Physical Activity into Middle School Lesson Plans
Rebecca Shangraw (workshop leader)

Speakers and Moderators

Featured

  • Jason Reynolds, New York Times best-selling author of novels and poetry for young adults and middle-grade audiences
  • Dr. Wendi Williams, Psychologist, Advocate, and Educator
  • Tina Durand, Clinical Associate Professor, Developmental Psychologist, and Author
  • Michael A. Medina, Researcher, Assistant Professor, and Program Director
  • Penny A. Bishop, Dean, BU Wheelock

Speakers and Panelists

  • Joshua Bordes, School Counselor, East Boston Middle School
  • Aaron Brakoniecki, Senior Lecturer & Program Director, Mathematics Education, BU Wheelock
  • Sarah L. F. Burnham, Postdoctoral Scholar, CIRCLE at Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University
  • Jennifer Greif Green, Professor, Special Education, BU Wheelock
  • Joshua Goodman, Associate Professor, Education and Economics, BU Wheelock
  • Erin Hashimoto-Martell, Associate Commissioner, Center for Instructional Support, Massachusetts Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Laura Jiménez, Senior Lecturer, Language & Literacy Education, and Director, Center for Educating Critically, BU Wheelock
  • Adrian Mims, Founder, the Calculus Project
  • Ola Ozernov-Palchik, Research Assistant Professor, Language & Literacy Education, BU Wheelock
  • Maria Paredes, Senior Middle School Advisor, GEAR UP, BU Wheelock
  • Donna Pincus, Director, Child and Adolescent Fear and Anxiety Treatment Program and CAS Feld Family Professor of Teaching Excellence, Boston University
  • Angelica Rodriguez, Program Director, Sociedad Latina
  • Lana Edwards Santoro, Research Professor, Special Education, BU Wheelock
  • Rebecca Shangraw, Senior Lecturer, Applied Human Development, BU Wheelock
  • V. Scott Solberg, Professor, Counseling Psychology, and Co-Director, Center for Future Readiness, BU Wheelock
  • Kaylene Stevens, Clinical Assistant Professor, Social Studies Education, BU Wheelock
  • Annabel Stoler, Doctoral Student, Math & Science Education, BU Wheelock
  • Ariel Tichnor-Wagner, Program Director and Lecturer, Social Studies Education, BU Wheelock
  • Ziming Xuan, Professor, Community Health Sciences, BU School of Public Health