Northview Middle School, in MSD Washington Township in Indianapolis, was awarded the top prize at the recent National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) Conference in New Orleans. They have worked with NIET to implement practices that have led to increased student achievement and family involvement, higher teacher retention, and greater leadership capactiy. This press release shares many more details, as does the video below.

Northview will host a site visit on Friday, May 8, tentative time 10 am-2pm. Principal Thomas Hakim will share what they have done to create a positive school culture/climate, as well as talk about the school and progress over the past few years. A tour of the building (new in Fall, 2024) and classroom visits will be included. The visit will be free for IMLEA members, $20 for nonmembers. You can sign up here. Northview is at 9020 N. College Avenue in Indianapolis.

CONGRATULATIONS TO CEDAR CREST INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

Cedar Crest Intermediate School in Huntingburg, Indiana, a member of the Southeast DuBois School District, was recently named a statewide Top 25 Impact Winner by the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) at the University of Indianapolis. Their work in strengthening support for multilingual learners was cited specifically. You can read about them and other honored schools here.

DEADLINE TO PRESENT AT AMLE26 IS NOW APRIL 12

Sunday, April 12, is now the deadline for presentations at AMLE26, November 4-7 in Nashville. There will be a second call for presentations later in the summer, which in the recent past has been for shorter presentations, such as Spark and Lightning Sessions. You can see the conference strands and apply here.

An additional program, the Rising Star Presenters, is for those who have presented at AMLE in the past 5 years, preferably have 5-15 years experience, exhibit leadership, and are a current practitioner and AMLE member. Those selected will receive complimentary AMLE26 registration, a 3-night hotel stay, a spotlight on the conference website, the chance to present in a featured breakout session, and an exclusive networking and coaching session with AMLE’s featured speakers. This deadline is now April 12 as well.

You can also apply to be a session reviewer. You will receive 15-20 submissions by April 24 to review and rate, with a deadline of May 1. You will receive $50 off the registration fee upon completion.

APPLY FOR AMLE'S $5000 SUCCESSFUL MIDDLE SCHOOL GRANT

The AMLE Foundation Fund is looking for projects that are innovative, proliferate the middle school model, and might be able to be replicated by other schools. Interested applicants might look to the AMLE Schools of Distinction or the Successful Middle School Mini PD Library for inspiration. Examples of program topics might include, but are certainly not limited to:

Innovative middle school scheduling approaches
An advisory program redesign or expansion
A novel approach to student voice/leadership
A program that creatively meets student mental health needs

The recipients of this grant will receive funds up to $5000 to introduce a new initiative or expand/enhance an existing project. Application deadline is May 1.

You must be an AMLE member by the time you submit your application.

CUSTER BAKER INTERMEDIATE FEATURED IN AMLE TEAMING ARTICLE

Custer Baker Intermediate in Franklin, the only Indiana school to earn AMLE's "Schools of Distinction" so far, is featured in a detailed post about teaming. Their principal, Cheryl Moran, a finalist for AMLE Educator of the Year in 2025, details how teaming has made the transition for incoming 5th graders from 5 elementaries into one school a more seamless transition.

FIND YOUR GRIND WEBINAR: RE-ENGAGING DISCONNECTED LEARNERS THROUGH PURPOSE-BASED LEARNING

Many students become disengaged from learning this time of year, but every day in the spring should mean as much as every day in the fall or winter! This webinar will explore ways to increase engagement:

- Starting with student purpose and identity. - Building ownership through reflection
- Making learning relevant to modern day. - Connecting purpose to career pathways

This webinar with Danielle Watkins will be at 1 pm on April 14.

TIMES ARE EDT; FREE UNLESS NOTED

Many are available via recording, especially if you pre-register.

April-National School Library Month; Have You Thanked Your Librarian?

April-National Poetry Month; Some Middle School Examples

April- Citizen Science Month: Your Students Can Participate

April 7- First Webinar in Nextech's Month of AI Series, 7 pm

April 10-Deadline to Comment on New Indiana Social Studies Standards, 11:45 pm

April 12- Deadline to Submit Proposals for AMLE 2026 & Rising Star Presenter (was April 10)

April 13- Deadline to Nominate Someone for the Indianapolis Colts "Classroom Quarterback Award," 11:59 pm

April 14- Find Your Grind Webinar, 1 pm

April 14- First Information Webinar for Lilly Teacher Creativity Grants, 3:30 pm

April 15-Adolescent Literacy Session at Marian University, 3:30 pm (and here)

April 15-Nextech Easy Ways to Use AI in the Middle School Classroom, 4 pm

April 21-Building Thinking Classrooms/Integrate Manipulatives, 5 pm

April 28- Free Webinar with Science Demo Extraordinaire Steve Spangler, 7 pm

April 29- AMLE Middle School Leadership Roundtable Series: Exploring Assessment Data, 4 pm

April 30- Free Replays from FETC, (One of the Top EdTech Conferences) 10, 12, & 2

April 30- EdTech Coach EdCamp (online), 12-2:30 pm

May 8- Visit to Northview Middle School (Free for IMLEA Members)

June 9-10-KINLCon at Plainfield Community High School $

June 25-27- National Schools to Watch Conference, Washington, D.C. Area, $

July 15- Deadline to Nominate Someone for the AMLE Educator of the Year

September 8-Lilly Teacher Creativity Grant Proposals Due, 6 pm

November 4-7- AMLE in Nashville, TN $

ONGOING EVENTS

Indiana Learning Lab Workshops (Requires Sign in for Registration, Also Access to Archived Events)

Teachers First OK2Ask Online Workshops ; (Past on-demand sessions)

Keep Indiana Learning (KINL); Live Events (some $) Past Recordings/Digital Content

edWeb.net Webinars (Can watch at later date; if sponsored, "commercials" are at the end)

Leslie Fisher Webinars

AMLE Podcasts: Walk and Talk & Research to Practice

AMLE Events (some free, some paid)

Corwin Webinars, Additional Free Corwin Resources, Including Past Webinars

Please note: Webinars and events mentioned in this space are not an endorsement of commercial products; on the contrary, we try to avoid listing events that appear to be commercial in nature. Every effort is made to strip social media/tracking data from provided URLs. In many cases, you can register and receive a recording later.

ABOUT IMLEA

The only organization in Indiana devoted to promoting, improving, and supporting middle level education. We are the Indiana affiliate of the national organization AMLE, and administer the Schools to Watch program for the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform.

Join us! Membership Benefits and Application

Joint Membership, AMLE/IMLEA

Susie Highley, Executive Director

FIND US:

11025 E. 25th Street, Indianapolis, IN. 46229 (Inside IASP)

(317) 759-4344

FACEBOOK X (Twitter) EMAIL LinkedIN

A NEW WAY TO GET MORE AS AN EDUCATOR (IT'S FREE)

Exciting announcement for educators!

We are thrilled to introduce a new, free program created specifically for educators — the Horace

Mann ClubTM

.

This program gives educators like you access to exclusive discounts, unique perks, wellness

resources and financial tools to support you in and out of the classroom. Membership is

completely free, and once you've enrolled, you can begin taking advantage of perks

immediately.

This program includes access to things like:

Discounted health and wellness programs
Discounts on educator supplies and subscriptions
Financial support like credit monitoring and student loan solutions

Learn more and sign up here!