Middle School Archive

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The Middle School Archive Project was started in 2005 at Quintanilla Middle School, an inner city school in Dallas, Texas. The goal of the project was to motivate students and hopefully raise the high school graduation rate among the largely Hispanic student body well above the 40% graduation rate for similar students district wide, as measured in November 2001.

The Middle School Archive Project is a 10-year rotating time-capsule system with a goal to improve middle school student motivation through a physical connection to their future. The Archive itself is a 350-pound vault, bolted to the floor in a place of respect in the school lobby. Inside the Archive are 10 shelves to hold letters from 8th grade classes over 10 years until their 10-year reunion. The students write these letters to themselves before leaving 8th grade. The letter is about their achievements and stories from their life. It will document their efforts toward personal growth and their goals. They seal the finished letters into self-addressed envelopes. They pose with their letters and their Language Arts class in front of the Archive for a photo. Then they place their envelope into the Archive themselves. They will receive a copy of that photo with information on the back about their 10-year reunion. At that reunion, they will reopen the Archive for their letters. They know they will also be invited to give their "10 years of Wisdom Talk" to then current 8th grade students. They will answer questions such as, "What would you do if you were 13 again?"

More details about the project are available online at www.studentmotivation.org.. "Archive Builds a Stronger Future" was an article on the Archive Project published by Education World. "Students offer '10 Years of Wisdom'" is another article about the Archive Project distributed in the December 2005 Better Teaching newsletter, on the top of page 4, by The Teacher Institute.