Messages from NMSA
Message from the President
5/2008
Theresa W. Hinkle
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.
I'm haunted by a book
4/2008
Read the Executive Director's Note from the April 2008 issue of Middle Ground.
Message from the President
3/2008
Theresa W. Hinkle
February is interesting
2/2008
Read the Executive Director's Note from the February 2008 issue of Middle Ground.
Message from the President
1/2008
Theresa W. Hinkle
Message from the President
11/2007
Theresa Hinkle
"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.
Focus on Month of the Young Adolescent
10/2007
Read the Executive Director's Note from the October 2007 issue of Middle Ground.
Message from the President
9/2007
Mike Dietz
"New Beginnings!" by Betty Edwards
8/2007
Read the Executive Director's Note from the August 2007 issue of Middle Ground.
NMSA Announces Hiring of New Executive Director
5/2007
National Middle School Association is pleased to announce the hiring of Betty Edwards as its new executive director.
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.
Swaim Announces Retirement from NMSA
6/2006
At the June 2006 National Middle School Association Board of Trustees meeting, Executive Director Sue Swaim announced her upcoming retirement, effective as of June 30, 2007.
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.
A Message on Accountability and the Impact of High-Stakes Testing
2/2002
Sue Swaim, Executive Director
Now More Than Ever
9/2001
Sue Swaim, Executive Director