While there is no certain way to tell if you have a middle school, however here are some important characteristics:

• Interdisciplinary teaming of the teachers, usually by grade level which leads to . . .
• Integrated (interdisciplinary) units and lesson plans
• Advisory programs, closely related to . . .
• The teacher as counselor
• Heterogeneous grouping (not tracking), which lead to . . .
• Cooperative learning in small or large (class) groups
• Exploratory activities & projects
• Block scheduling, including . . .
• Common planning periods for teaching teams