Press Conference

On May 2, 2006, National Middle School Association released Success in the Middle: A Policymaker's Guide to Achieving Quality Middle Level Education at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. View the video of this event.

Speaker Biographies

Sue Swaim has been executive director of National Middle School Association (NMSA) since 1993. Before joining NMSA, she was principal of the University of Northern Colorado Laboratory School for 7 years, and had taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grade language arts, social studies, and reading for 10 years prior to that. Swaim also taught in the Emporia (KS) Public Schools, the Seamen Public Schools in Topeka, and in Gilcrest, CO. She is a past president of NMSA and a past executive director of the Colorado Association of Middle Level Education.

Patti Kinney is the current president of National Middle School Association. Principal of Talent Middle School in Talent, OR, she was named 2003 Met Life/National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Middle Level Principal of the Year. A veteran of more than 30 years in education, Kinney has worked at the elementary, middle school, and university levels. She served on the U.S. Department of Education's Teacher Advisory Committee, and co-authored A School-Wide Approach to Student-Led Conferences.

Brenda Cassellius is academic superintendent, Memphis City Schools. She has been with Memphis City Schools for two years. Her work helped the district move from 4 to 22 schools making adequate yearly progress through state guidelines. She also has been a middle and high school teacher and assistant principal in Minneapolis Public Schools and St. Paul (MN) Public Schools.

Gerald Tirozzi is executive director of National Association of Secondary School Principals. A former assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education at the U.S. Department of Education and commissioner of education in Connecticut, he was named to the NASSP position in 1999. Tirozzi has worked in education for more than 45 years, including positions as superintendent of the New Haven (CT) Public Schools and professor at the University of Connecticut's Department of Educational Leadership.