Press Release

For further information, contact:
Sue Swaim, 1-800-528-NMSA

September 20, 2004

NMSA Presents Grants to Two Schools to Improve Middle Level Education

COLUMBUS (OH)—National Middle School Association (NMSA), the nation's largest organization focused solely on middle level education, has awarded grants to two schools—Stoneleigh-Burnham School, Greenfield, MA, and Garibaldi Secondary School, Maple Ridge, British Columbia—to implement the principles in This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents. The $1,500 grants are presented by the NMSA Foundation. This is the first year the NMSA Foundation has presented these $1,500 grants.

This We Believe, NMSA's landmark document on improving education for 10-15 year-olds, outlines 14 principles that have proven to advance the academic, developmental and social growth of young adolescents when implemented consistently.

"These schools are focusing on proven concepts that are likely to lead to greater academic and developmental gains for their students," said Sue Swaim, NMSA executive director. "The young adolescent years are the second most important period in a person's development, and the efforts of these educators will pay off for their students and communities."

NMSA is the largest professional organization serving educators and parents who work with 10 to 15 year-olds. With 31,500 members, it has initiated Month of the Young Adolescent in October and released This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents, a position paper outlining 14 qualities that should be in place in every middle level school for students to achieve and grow academically and developmentally.