On-Site Staff Development

Sue Swaim served as executive director of the National Middle School Association from 1993 to 2007. Upon her retirement from this position the NMSA Board of Trustees recognized her contributions by granting her the status of Executive Director Emeritus. Prior to joining NMSA, she was a middle level educator in Colorado for over 20 years. She taught middle level language arts, social studies, and reading; was an elementary and middle school principal for eight years; and taught off-campus graduate courses for the University of Northern Colorado in content reading and writing, classroom management, and instructional strategies.

Throughout her middle level career, Ms. Swaim has been a primary consultant to numerous school districts as well as a workshop presenter and keynote speaker at middle level conferences and institutes nationally and internationally. She was a member of the primary writing team for This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents (2003) and led the development of NMSA's Success in the Middle Policy Guidebook. Recognized for her knowledge of young adolescent characteristics and the research-based practices which are keys to students' academic achievement in developmentally appropriate learning environments, Ms. Swaim brings a practitioner's experience and voice to middle level professional development.

Topics:

• Middle level philosophy
• Teaming
• Literacy
• Classroom management
• Leadership
• New teacher training
• Transition
• Characteristics of young adolescents