Archdiocese of Miami superintendent, Jim Rigg, Ed.D., and Middle School Mindset pilot teachers.
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School leadership and Middle School Mindset collaborators.
Photos courtesy of ADAC, Inc.
Middle school has long been recognized as a pivotal bridge between childhood and young adulthood, yet today’s educators and students navigate this transition amid increasingly complex conditions. Recent 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data raise significant concerns: eighth-grade reading scores have declined, and mathematics performance remains largely flat compared to pre-pandemic levels, underscoring the need for renewed instructional focus and student support. Simultaneously, reports indicate that many adolescents experience persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, underscoring a critical need for school connectedness and holistic support.
Within Catholic education, this season of development carries an even deeper responsibility: to form young adolescents not only academically, but also spiritually, morally, and relationally, ensuring that each student is known, valued, and supported as a child of God. At its core, the middle school experience should be about more than just surviving the “bridge”; it should be a time of intentional growth.
In response to these challenges, four national Catholic school partners committed to advancing faith-filled, student-centered education: ADAC, Inc., William H. Sadlier, Inc., Friendzy Co., and Archangel Education & Technology. They chose collaboration over competition. The Middle School Mindset Portfolio of Services is an à la carte collection of complementary resources designed to strengthen both instruction and culture through high-quality, practical, and sustainable tools.
To help middle school teachers design learning experiences that better engage diverse learners, strengthen student access and participation, and proactively address learner variability, ADAC provides instructional coaching and practical Universal Design for Learning (UDL) tools, including The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Teacher Self-Reflection Toolkit and a personalized coaching consultation session.
Catholic school leaders and educators from the Archdiocese of Miami celebrate the launch of Middle School Mindset with collaborators ADAC, Inc., William H. Sadlier, Inc., Friendzy Co., and Archangel Education & Technology.
To address ongoing challenges related to academic vocabulary, reading comprehension, and disciplinary literacy in the middle grades, Sadlier provides Vocabulary Workshop Select for grades 6–12, which supports differentiated instruction, repeated exposure to academic language, progress monitoring, and flexible instructional grouping.
To support students experiencing stress, anxiety, and emotional strain during the middle school years, Friendzy provides its Stress Less, Breathe Easy unit, which integrates character development, biblical reflection, student journaling, and research-based regulation strategies to help students build emotional awareness and resilience.
To help schools streamline technology support and reduce operational challenges that often interrupt teaching and learning, Archangel Education & Technology provides Arch360, a centralized digital ecosystem for managing technology repairs, purchasing, support requests, and classroom-ready technology systems.
Rather than functioning as isolated programs, these resources were designed to work together to directly support classroom practice and student formation. Through the Archdiocese of Miami Middle School Mindset pilot, teachers have begun to connect the resources directly to instructional planning and classroom practice. One middle school teacher reflected on how UDL coaching helped her become more intentional in her approach to student engagement. Through collaborative reflection, the teacher recognized that students were more motivated when learning goals and success criteria were clearly communicated. She also noted that students responded positively to Friendzy’s Stress Less, Breathe Easy unit because the flexible design made participation feel accessible and meaningful.
Another archdiocesan middle school pilot teacher shared, “After our ADAC coaching session, while planning out my lessons, I have been more intentional in ensuring that I am finding ways to apply UDL. I’ve also started planning for next year in creating my interest surveys and reading area.”
These experiences capture the purpose of the portfolio: to move beyond inspiration toward implementation, helping teachers translate practical strategies into more intentional planning, greater student access, and stronger classroom culture.
On May 29, 2026, ADAC and its vendor partners presented the national webinar Middle School Mindset in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Miami Catholic Schools Office, Archdiocese of Miami middle school pilot teachers, and national partners. The webinar provided practical strategies that teachers can use immediately to support middle school students in their classrooms.
Middle school students increasingly seek both autonomy and belonging. In Catholic schools, honoring student voices while nurturing a strong sense of community reflects our commitment to educating the whole child. ADAC’s work in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) highlights how educators can provide meaningful opportunities for student choice and agency while maintaining rigorous academic expectations. Through flexible pathways for engagement, representation, and expression, UDL helps ensure that all students can access learning and demonstrate their understanding in ways that reflect their strengths and needs.
Choice alone, however, does not always guarantee engagement. For example, a teacher may offer students a choice between writing and drawing to express their understanding at the end of a lesson. However, middle school students can often feel self-conscious about artistic expression. Tools like Google AutoDraw use AI to transform rough sketches into polished visuals, helping students participate more confidently in creative tasks. For middle school students who may feel hesitant about artistic expression, these types of supports can increase engagement while preserving student choice and voice.
Middle schoolers often carry high levels of stress that can lead to disengagement. Friendzy shared a brain-based tool called Name It to Tame It to help students manage these emotions in real time. This 90-second reset is grounded in the principle that naming a feeling calms the brain.
Step 1: Name It. Students use a daily check-in tool to identify their current emotion (e.g., stressed, tired, anxious).
Step 2: Tame It. Students practice a simple breathing routine (inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 6) for one minute.
This tool can be used before a test or after a conflict, requiring no preparation but providing immediate regulation.
The mission of Catholic education calls us to form students for sainthood, not just for high school. By reclaiming the middle school years as a time of holistic formation, we ensure that students grow in spirit as they develop skills, confidence, and identity.
Middle school is a critical season of development during which young adolescents are shaping not only how they learn, but also who they are becoming. During these years, students need more than strong academics alone; they need caring adults who know them personally, recognize their God-given dignity, and help them navigate the social, emotional, and spiritual complexities of adolescence.
Catholic middle schools are uniquely positioned to foster communities of accompaniment in which middle schoolers experience both belonging and purpose. When these students feel known, supported, and challenged within a faith-filled community, they are more likely to engage meaningfully in learning, build resilience, and deepen their sense of identity and faith as they transition into high school.
The Middle School Mindset Portfolio of Services is not a bundled product; it is a curated partnership designed to serve middle schools more effectively. In a season when students need communities where they are known and challenged, this collaborative effort offers a hopeful – and novel – pathway forward.
For more information and to access the portfolio, visit https://arch-te.com/middle-school-initiative/.
Denise Ball, Ed.D.is the chief operating officer for ADAC.deniseball@theadac.com
Julie Cantillon, Ph.D.is the senior vice president for professional learning for ADAC.juliecantillon@theadac.com
Kaitlyn Westonis the director of instructional coaching and program quality for ADAC.kaitlynweston@theadac.com