Messages from AMLE
formerly National Middle School Association

AMLE Grieves the Sandy Hook Tragedy
12/2012

Top Honors Awarded to Outstanding Teams and Individuals
11/2012

Dru Tomlin Named AMLE Director of Middle Level Services
10/2012

AMLE Remembers Kathy Hunt-Ullock
5/2012

Welcome Discovery
4/2012
Join us … to launch Space Shuttle Discovery on its new mission to educate and inspire!

AMLE remembers Dr. Gordon Vars
2/2012

AMLE Joins in Celebration of Blue Ribbon Schools
11/2011

NBPTS announces public review period for Physical Education Standards
8/2011

Senators Introduce Legislation to Improve Middle School Achievement
4/2011

NMSA Meets with the U.S. Department of Education
4/2011

Beyoncé is featured performer for Let's Move! Flash Workout
3/2011

NMSA remembers Dr. Thaddeus Dumas
8/2010

Give Your Students the Gift of Travel—Apply for a National Youth Day Out
5/2010

Middle School Sports Updates and Resources
5/2010
Read how NMSA and NFHS are developing curriculum for middle school sports coaches; how the online system, Reporting Information Online (RIO), is collecting information about sports injuries from schools across the country; and get free resources for coaches, parents, and students from The Department of Sports Medicine at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

ESEA Blueprint: Elementary and Secondary Education Act
3/2010

Letter from the President
3/2010
Cathie Thibodeau

National Organizations Recognize Importance of New Middle Grades Research
3/2010
According to NMSA, NASSP, and the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform, EdSource’s recent study, Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better, is an important piece of research that draws attention to the critical role that middle grades schools play in the preK-12 continuum and provides schools with key strategies that will help prepare students for academic success in high school and beyond.

Leading Organizations Urge Swift ESEA Reauthorization
1/2010
National Middle School Association, as part of the Learning First Alliance, sent a letter to President Obama and Secretary Arne Duncan calling for the swift reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

This We Know: NMSA Washington Update
Updated 11/23/09

Letter from the President
11/2009
Cathie Thibodeau

This We Believe
10/2009
Read the Executive Director's Note from the October 2009 issue of Middle Ground.

This We Know: NMSA Washington Update
Updated 9/15/09

"The Success in the Middle Act"
7/2009
In an effort to strengthen middle level education and increase high school graduation rates, Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) have reintroduced the Success in the Middle Act (H.R. 3006/S. 1362).

Letter from the President
5/2009
Janet Vernon

New Resource Available to Help Reverse High School Dropout Crisis
2/2009
Grad Nation is a new resource for communities and organizations working to reduce high school dropout rates

Economic Issues and How They Affect Young Adolescents
2/2009
Now is the time for parents and educators to talk to young adolescents about what is happening in our world. Explain how the economy affects everyone. Be honest and talk about the impact on our schools and families.

As I look out the windows
2/2009
Read the Executive Director's Note from the February 2009 issue of Middle Ground.

Recommendations to the President-Elect
NMSA and six other national education organizations call on the new administration and Congress to prioritize international education as part of an economic recovery and development plan.

Each time I write
10/2008
Read the Executive Director's Note from the October 2008 issue of Middle Ground.

Dropouts: The Missing Link
9/2008
In this message published in the September 3, 2008, issue of Education Week, NMSA President Patti Kinney and NASSP President Larry Bradley share the concern that dropout prevention is not a high school problem. Research indicates that attention and efforts should start much earlier.

National Teacher of the Year awarded to a middle school teacher
5/2008
Michael Geisen, a seventh grade science teacher from Prineville, Oregon, won this prestigious national honor.

"The Success in the Middle Act"
10/2007
Read key points about the first-ever middle level education initiative and ways you can communicate with your House Representative or Senator to support its passage.

NMSA's Recommendations for Reauthorization of NCLB
2/2007
In January 2007, NMSA sent recommendations to U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and Congressional leaders involved in NCLB discussions. The reauthorization of NCLB presents an excellent opportunity to strengthen national middle level policy and to help raise student learning and achievement in the middle grades.

National Symposium on Middle Level Education
10/2006
Read a summary and watch video of this important event held September 20 on Capital Hill in Washington, D.C.

NMSA Responds
9/2005
At its recent meeting, the NMSA Board of Trustees sent a letter to Chester Finn of the Fordham Foundation regarding NMSA's concerns on the recently released Fordham report, Mayhem in the Middle, authored by Cheri Pierson Yecke.

NMSA Publishes Advertorial in Education Week
5/2005
Read the recent NMSA response to K-8 vs. middle schools published as an advertorial in the May 11th issue of Education Week. Sue Swaim, NMSA executive director, writes, "Successful education for students in grades 5-8 does not depend on grade configuration so much as what goes on in the classroom."

Strength in the Middle
4/2004
New grade configurations for educating young adolescents won't improve their student achievement and may delay us from focusing on the real issues that cause problems in middle schools—large class sizes, an overcrowded curriculum, inconsistent professional development for teachers and administrators—and more. Read the Education Week commentary by NMSA Executive Director Sue Swaim that addresses the scope of work we must be engaged in and the needed involvement and accountability of educators, policymakers, and parents to make it happen.

NMSA Responds
2/2004
In a recently published book, The War Against Excellence: The Rising Tide of Mediocrity in America's Middle Schools, Minnesota's commissioner of education accuses NMSA and middle level leaders of "being radical social activists" who are attempting to force changes that are damaging to students, especially those who are gifted.

Highly Qualified: A Balanced Approach
1/2004
Joint position statement with National Association of Elementary School Principals and National Association of Secondary School Principals

This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents
11/2003
At a National Press Club release on November 5, 2003, National Middle School Association announced the release of its new position paper, This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents. This landmark document provides a vision for successful middle schools and delineates 14 characteristics that, when present over time, lead to higher levels of student achievement and overall achievement.
Press Release
Executive Summary

Middle Level Teachers Need Both Content Knowledge and Instructional Skills To Be Effective
11/2003
Published in Education Week, January 2003.

Media Literacy for Middle Level Students: An Important Curriculum Component
6/2003
Reprinted with permission: National Telemedia Council, publisher of Telemedium-The Journal of Media Literacy, © 2002, from Fall 2002 special issue "Media and Youth- How The Media Construct Teens," http://www.nationaltelemediacouncil.org.

Together We Can Make a Difference!
10/2002
Month of the Young Adolescent 2002 Education Week Editorial.