National Association of Professors of Middle Level Education

History

The National Association of Professors of Middle Level Education (NAPOMLE) was chartered on October 28, 1997 as the 55th affiliate of the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE). The charter was signed by 56 middle level professors from across the nation, and listed the following as charter institutional members: Clark Atlanta University, Georgia Southwestern University, Clayton State University (GA), Valdosta State University, Miami University (OH), Georgia College and State University, University of Wisconsin at Platteville, Phillips University, the University of Cincinnati, the College of Charleston, Southeast Missouri State University, Bridgewater State College (MA), Northeastern Illinois University (Chicago), State University of West Georgia, and Georgia Southern University. John Lounsbury was the first to sign, and added the signature of William Alexander (deceased) in remembrance of one of the other founders of the middle school movement.

While the creation of NAPOMLE occurred as a result of collaboration among a group of middle level professors from across the nation, it evolved from an association that existed more than a decade before in Georgia, the Georgia Professors of Middle Level Education, established by John Lounsbury, Jay Hertzog, and others. Both organizations were established to provide a forum for middle level educators to share information and ideas, and to network with one another to the benefit of the middle grades movement. A steering committee was formed which developed a Constitution and Bylaws based on a model provided by AMLE, and application was made for affiliate status. Upon approval of the charter in 1997, John Myers of the State University of West Georgia was elected as first president of the association.

by John Myers and Barbara R. Blackburn