Discovering Gifts in Middle School: Learning in a Caring Culture Called Tribes

This new book motivates and supports middle level schools to make the full range of young adolescents’ developmental growth and learning needs the over-riding focus of the whole school community. The author presents a lively synthesis of a wealth of research studies and effective practices, which underlie the Tribes Learning Community developmental approach. The major emphasis on middle level schools becoming responsive to the contextual basis of adolescent development leads not only to greater achievement and success for students but a new spirit, energy and the discovery of gifts throughout the whole school community. The book contains 440 pages, 140 active learning strategies, an extensive bibliography, resource section and index. 2001.

Jeanne Gibbs has spent her professional career studying, writing and implementing systemic processes and programs to support children’s development and prevent youth problems. Her perspective on human development is a systems approach that encourages schools, families and communities to create healthy environments in which children can grow and learn. The developmental culture and educational process now known as “Tribes Learning Communities” evolved out of years of studies Jeanne has pursued to synthesize a wealth of literature pertaining to the ecology of human development and learning. She is convinced that well being and success for students is not a result of curriculum, instruction and assessment – nor of intelligence – but the result of a school finally focusing on the growth and whole human development of its students in all aspects of their individual uniqueness and brilliance. The vision takes on reality whenever a school system focuses first on creating and sustaining a caring culture in which children truly are able to discover themselves and succeed.

Jeanne supervised implementations of the community learning process throughout hundreds of schools and youth-serving agencies for more than ten years while managing a non-profit corporation, which she had founded. Though serving as the executive director, she continued to research, refine and author publications – until her first formal retirement. Since then, Jeanne has retired many times – none of which last long due to her to passionate purpose. Ever-growing requests from schools throughout the United States, Canada and other countries for professional development and quality materials led her to establish CenterSource Systems in 1995 as “the home of Tribes.”

Her primary interest now centers on the potential of school reform being achieved through reflective Learning Communities that are responsive to the developmental and learning needs of their students. It is no surprise that people across the country know Jeanne for her warm and generous spirit… and ability to build community wherever she goes.