On-Site Staff Development

Throughout her career, Neila has had the privilege of working with students in grades K-12. She has been an elementary teacher, a middle level teacher and administrator, and a high school advanced placement coordinator. Her recent endeavor involves a business partnership with Union Pacific Railroad, working with high school administrators in 22 states.

Neila has also been a middle grades consultant in the Florida Department of Education and a tenured professor in the Department of Secondary Education at Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia. She was a member of the executive council and board of trustees for National Middle School Association for six years and the executive director for the Georgia Middle School Association. She is also the recipient of the Florida Distinguished Service Award, National Middle School Association's Presidential Distinguished Service Award, and Connecticut Association of Schools' Distinguished Service Award. Recently the New England League of Middle Schools honored her with the James P. Garvin Distinguished Service Award.

Her research has been in the areas of teacher advisory programs, successful counselors, attitudes of students from rural areas, positive teacher and their characteristics, "middleschoolness", and homework. Among her most notable publications are: S.O.S. (Success-Oriented Strategies) for Teachers of "At-Risk" Early Adolescents: P.S.—All Early Adolescents Are "At-Risk!", and Homework: A New Direction. Her most recent publication If You Don't Feed the Teachers, They Eat the Students has received many rave reviews. Neila has written numerous articles and has presented to educators representing pre-K to university level (both public and private schools), school boards, superintendents, state and national organizations, parents, counselors, international school educators, and corporations in all 50 states, Canada, and Europe.

• Middle level philosophy
• Teaming
• Classroom management
• Leadership
• Assessment
• Teacher quality
• Student motivation
• Recognition
• New teacher training
• School climate
• Advisory
• Transition
• Characteristics of young adolescents
• Dealing with stress