For
the past 10 years Kitty has served first as a board member and for
the past 5 years as the Executive Director of the Minnesota Middle
School Association. Principal of Prairie Wind Middle School in
Perham for the past 11 years, Kitty has also served as a
Superintendent, a High School Principal and a teacher at the
middle school, high school and college level. Kitty earned her
B.S. degree from Bemidji State University, M.S. from St. Cloud
State University and Ed. Spec. from the University of North
Dakota.
Mark
Fodness has taught 7th grade American History for 21 years at
Bemidji Middle School. He has been named MMSA�s Teacher of the
Year and the Minnesota Council for Social Studies Middle Level
Teacher of the Year. Mark has also earned the Ashland Oil Golden
Apple award and a 3M Innovative Economics Teacher award and has
been inducted into Bemidji State University�s Teacher Hall of
Fame. He has taught the Philosophy of Middle Level course at
Bemidji State and has thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to
present in-service programs to middle schools throughout
Minnesota. Mark has also presented a wide variety of topics at
middle level conferences and seminars.
Noel is
currently the President of the Minnesota Middle School Association
after serving as Treasurer for four years. He is the Principal at
Central Middle School, located in the White Bear Lake Area School
District. Noel has worked in a number of different areas in the
educational world-English teacher, football, basketball, and track
coach, yearbook advisor, speech advisor, School Psychologist, Dean
of Students, Associate Principal, and finally as Principal.. He
has a B.S. from Mankato State University, an Ed.S. from the
University of Northern Iowa, and an Ed.D. from the University of
St. Thomas.
Chris
began teaching history at Kenyon-Wanamingo High School.After four years of working with this age group as a
teacher and coach, he accepted a position as an 8th grade history
teacher at Marshall Junior High in Marshall, MN.Middle level education was his true calling and it gave him
the opportunity to work with a great population of students.He completed his M.A. in 2000 and administrative
certification in 2002 from Minnesota State University, Mankato.In 2002 he began a position as an assistant principal for
Marshall's Middle Level Schools. During this time he worked with
staff to combine educational practice and staff from two buildings
to form the new Marshall Middle School.He was named Assistant Principal of the Year for the
Southwest Division in 2005 and accepted an assistant principal
position at Farmington Middle School East in Farmington, MN in the
summer of 2005.In the spring of 2006, he was named to the Board of
Directors for the Minnesota Middle School Association.
Kristi has been a sixth grade teacher in
the Rochester School District since 1991 and has been at
Kellogg Middle School since 1994. The team she is on consists of
three teachers and approximately 95 students. She has completed a
middle school licensure program when the school district made the
move to the middle school concept in 1994. Through the years
Kristi has presented at state middle school conferences with
some of her colleagues. Kristi became a part of the Minnesota
Middle School Board in the fall of 2001 and has taken on the roles
of the board secretary and state conference registrations.
Jason has taught 7th grade English at Dakota Meadows Middle School
for eleven years. During his time at Dakota Meadows, he served as a
grade level team leader and as a member of the site leadership
team. Jason also spent one year as the Secondary Mentor for
Mankato Area Public Schools. Jason has been actively involved in
preparing and presenting professional development within the
Mankato school district, at the graduate level, and at the
National Middle School Association's national
conferences. He earned a B.S. in Communications Education from Bowling Green
State University, Ohio and a M.S. in Educational Leadership from
Minnesota State University, Mankato. Jason is currently working on
an Ed.D. in Leadership from Saint Mary�s University.
Consultant Emphasis Area:
Middle school philosophy/best practice
Content area writing
Teaming
State Conference Promotion Tami
Jo Cook -
tamcook@edina.k12.mn.us Edina
South View Middle School
Having taught math for 10 years at the middle level, Tami is
currently working at South View Middle School in Edina, MN as Dean
of Students and Athletic Director. Tami has presented at
middle level conferences on both the regional and state levels in
the areas of math curriculum, teaming strategies and
interdisciplinary course work. Her strength is working with teams
in implementing effective strategies for working together. Tami is
well known for her passion toward middle level education and all
that it offers to adolescents.
Consultant Emphasis Area:
Teaming
Cindy
Kucera -
Highview Middle School
Cindy Kucera is the 7th Grade Dean of
Students at Highview Middle School in Moundsview School
district. Cindy's experiences include teaching special
education, serving as a middle school counselor, and dean of
students for the past 6 years. She earned a teaching
degree in special education and her masters degree in school
counseling at the University of St. Cloud. Cindy was
awarded the Outstanding Teacher/Citizen award in 2003 for her
work in the areas of diversity and community outreach.
Consultant Emphasis Area:
Advisory/Character Education
Peer Mediation
Targeted services - Strategies for at-risk
Bullying and Harassment
Steve Norlin-Weaver is a principal in the
Minneapolis Public School District. A former elementary teacher,
he began his career in administration at Dhahran Academy, an
international school in Saudi Arabia. Steve is now the principal
at Ramsey International Fine Arts Center, a Minneapolis public
school. Ramsey IFAC is a K-8
magnet school emphasizing the Arts and Spanish language
instruction. Steve has presented at conferences at both the state
and national level on the topics of advisory and transitioning to
a middle school.
A graduate of Mankato State, with majors
in English, Speech and German, Jan Heyerdahl has taught in Buffalo
since 1974. She joined the MMSA board in 1999, the same year she
took an excursion with breast cancer. Jan is a survivor and
thriver who enjoys middle school students AND staff! She has
presented at the MMSA State Conferences often and at the NMSA
conferences in Philadelphia and Nashville. Her goal as an educator is to foster a love for lifelong
learning.
Sue is a 7th and 8th grade Health Teacher at Discovery Middle School in
Alexandria, Minnesota and has served as a MMSA Board member for over 13 years.
She is also in charge of MMSA publications and was the Co-Chair for Hospitality
Committee for the National NMSA 2004 conference. Sue graduated from
Concordia College, Moorhead MN in 1979 in Education (Physical Education &
Health) and received her masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction with
a middle level endorsement from SCSU in 1991. She is
married and has fivechildren. Her favorite season is Spring and enjoys the
outdoors,gardening, quilting, computers and spending time with her family.
Communications Jerry
Meschke - jmeschke@isd12.org
Centennial Middle School
Presently the principal of Centennial Middle School in Lino Lakes,
Minnesota, Jerry started his career as an Industrial Arts teacher
in Wood Lake / Echo Public School. Moving to Redwood Falls,
Minnesota brought an extensive background to the transition from a
junior high to middle school program when the district built a new
middle school (5-8) and high school (9-12). After teaching in
Redwood Falls for sixteen years, Jerry assumed the principal role
at the middle school for four years. Moving to Faribault,
Minnesota in 1997 provided another opportunity to transition an
existing 7-9 grade junior high toward a 6-8 grade middle school
program. In 1999 the Centennial School District retained Jerry as
principal to help formalize a 1,750 student middle school. Jerry
has an extensive background in middle level development,
scheduling aspects of middle schools, reading in the content areas
and the process of transition to a middle school.
Dr. Lynn Scearcy, former principal of
Minnetonka Middle School East, works with the University of
Minnesota program for licensing school administrators. Her
administrative experience includes serving as an assistant
principal at the junior and senior high levels, interim principal
at the elementary level, and principal of a junior high and a
middle school. Dr. Scearcy completed her Ph.D. in 1999 and
explored transition issues for secondary school principals who
move to new districts. She now teaches The American Middle
School course, the Field Experience in K-12 Education course,
and the Licensure seminar at the University; advises licensure
candidates and graduate students; and works with the continuing
development and marketing of the licensure and leadership
development program.
Mark
Ziebarth is a member of MMSA Board of Directors and is currently
serving as a middle school principal in Isanti. Mark and his
staff have developed a new discipline system based on Corwin
Kronenberg�s �fix-it� model. Mark has a Bachelor�s Degree from
Minnesota State-Moorhead in Secondary Education and a Master�s
Degree and Sixth Year Certificate in Educational Administration
from Saint Cloud State University.
Patrick Fox
Chippewa Middle School
Patrick Fox is the Principal at Chippewa Middle School in the
Moundsview School district. Patrick�s experience includes
teaching at an alternative high school and junior high,
coordinating an adult education program and serving as an
assistant principal and principal at the middle level for the past
eight years. Patrick has been a member of the MMSA board member
since 2001.
Darren Overton is in sixth year as middle school principal in Pine
Island. Prior to his current position, Darren taught ten years at
the middle and high school level. Darren has worked with several
districts, training teachers and administrators in using data
collection to inform decision-making. Some of his work in data
collection has received national attention as published in Lee
Jenkins� book, �Improving Student Learning,� this past spring.
Darren is excited about his position on the MMSA board and views
this as an opportunity to help promote middle level education in
the state of Minnesota.
Consultant
Emphasis Areas:
Using Data
to Inform Decision Making - Continuous Improvement
Sandy has been an
8th grade
Earth Science teacher in the Brainerd Schools for the past ten
years. During this time, she has been actively involved with the
district�s mentoring program (CARE) for at-risk youth. Sandy also
serves on the Education Minnesota governing board for District
181. Springtime finds Sandy coaching junior high track. Sandy is
excited about joining the MMSA board and helping to promote middle
level education to others.
Consultant Emphasis Area:
Student Led Conferences
Differentiated Instruction
Mentorship Programs for At-Risk Youth
Margaret
Porter Lakeville Middle School
Margaret has been a sixth grade teacher
in Lakeville for the past 27 years. She started in a middle school
from 1978-1982. Lakeville is now transitioning to the middle
school concept in the fall of 2005 and has served as a member of
the transition task force. She is very excited to return to the
middle school concept and what it will offer sixth grade students.
Margaret became a member of the Minnesota Middle School
Association Board in the fall of 2004.
Jim is currently an assistant principal at Northdale Middle School, located in the Anoka-Hennepin school
district. Technology in education is a major focus
for him. He is in charge of maintaining
the Northdale website and the MMSA website. He has a number of years of coaching
experience in the district as well. He is currently a Minnesota
Middle School Board member and is finishing his Ed.S. degree at
the University of St. Thomas.
Melissa Benjamin has a B.S. from Mankato
State University in elementary education with a minor in middle
school. She also holds a master's degree from the University
of St. Thomas in Learning Technology. She has taught middle
school students for 13 years. The last twelve years, she has
taught at Orono Middle School. The school transitioned from
a traditional junior high to a middle school program in 2000, but
has since lost some core middle school programs due to budget
reductions. She is very eager to return to the middle school
concept. Some particular areas of interest include
innovative scheduling, advisory programs, and advocacy at the
state level. Melissa also serves on the Orono Education
Association's executive board and is the communications chair for
MetroWest UniServ's governing board. Melissa is excited
about joining the MMSA board and views this as an opportunity to
advocate for middle level education at the state level.
Tricia
Irvine has been teaching social studies to middle level students
for 17 years. She currently teaches at Prarie Wind Middle
School in Perham, MN. She received a B.A. in International
Relations from Drake University, a J.D. from the University of
Minnesota Law School and a B.S. in Social Studies Secondary
Education from Minnesota State University, Moorhead. She
practiced law for 12 years before heeding the call of middle level
education. She has never regretted it. She is married
with two grown children. She and her husband of 31 years are
trying to adjust to an empty nest. She joined the MMSA board
in September, 2004.
Copyright � 2002 Minnesota Middle School
Association
