A Population Health Perspective on Middle School Success

On December 5, 2019, the Roundtable on Population Health Improvement of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop to explore the factors that affect the health and well-being of middle-school-aged adolescents. The workshop included presentations on the risk factors of poor physical, social, and emotional outcomes and their prevalence; the identification of resilience factors; current policies and programs designed to support middle school success and address issues of equity and financing as they apply to these; and how the health and human services sectors can support and align with the education sector to promote health and well-being in middle school. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions that took place during the workshop.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
1 Introduction
2 To Thrive in Middle School and Beyond, and the Middle School Years, a 360 View
3 Remarks from the Mayor of Oakland and Middle School Inside Out
4 Multisector Support for the Middle School Experience
5 The Big Picture
6 Reflections on the Day and Closing Remarks
Appendix A: References
Appendix B: Workshop Agenda
Appendix C: Biosketches of Speakers and Moderators