Dru Tomlin Named AMLE Director of Middle Level Services

The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) Executive Director Dr. William Waidelich announced the selection of Dru Tomlin as the association's director of middle level services. In this role, Tomlin will promote middle level education and support AMLE's efforts to grow robust and diverse professional learning opportunities for middle grades educators. Tomlin will work with AMLE on a consulting basis until joining the association staff in January 2013.

In 1994, Tomlin began his career as an English teacher at Harrisonburg High School in Virginia, and in 1998 he started his work in middle grades in Georgia, serving as a language arts, reading, and social studies teacher, assistant principal, and principal. During his 13 years in the middle grades, he discovered how middle school students are powerful, vibrant members of the learning community who enrich the curriculum with their voices, hearts, and minds.

Tomlin has been recognized as a Fulton County Schools, Georgia, Teacher of the Year and as Georgia's Middle School Assistant Principal of the Year.

As a school system staff development trainer and as an AMLE Leadership Institute faculty member, Tomlin sees teaching as an art form. To grow as critical participants in that craft, Tomlin believes that middle school teachers and leaders deserve rich, responsive learning opportunities. "There is no greater time than the middle to help students blossom as learners, to support teachers who are growing as professionals, and to champion school leaders who inspire the vital, vibrant work being done," said Tomlin. "I am honored for this opportunity to serve middle grades educators in this role with AMLE."

According to Waidelich, "Dru Tomlin joins AMLE with a commitment to educational improvement and a passion for teaching and learning in the middle grades. He admires and supports the work of those bold, creative spirits who deserve celebration—middle school teachers, school leaders, and faculty. We are thrilled to have him join our team and contribute to the success of AMLE and the field of middle level education."