Annual Middle Level
Conference & Exhibits
New England League of Middle Schools are leaders in promoting middle level best practices by providing collaborative learning experiences that support students’ academic, social, and emotional growth and success.
42nd Annual Middle Level Conference
March 27 & 28, 2023
#NELMS23
Keynote Presenters - Biographies
General Session Keynote - Monday, March 27, 2023
Dr. Andrew Dolloff is in his ninth year as Superintendent of Schools in Yarmouth, Maine. He is a 33-year veteran of Maine public schools, having taught chemistry and coached varsity basketball for eight years before making the move to school leadership in 1995. Andrew and the schools he has led have received recognition at the state and national level, including three Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, Principal of the Year, and Superintendent of the Year. He has served on the International Advisory Board for the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Principals’ Center, serves the Board Chair for the New England School Development Council and is chair of the advisory board for the University of Southern Maine’s Educational Leadership program, where he is an adjunct professor.
Andrew’s book, The Trust Imperative: Practical approaches to effective school leadership, is being used in leadership preparatory programs and professional development settings as a resource for aspiring and veteran school leaders, and he consults with new and experienced school leaders looking to improve their practice. Andrew speaks before groups ranging from middle school students to superintendents and school board members, using real-life anecdotes and school-based experiences to emphasize the need for leaders at all levels to make intentional effort to deepen trust among school constituents.
A Maine native, Andrew earned his Ph.D. in Public Policy with a concentration in Educational Policy and Leadership at the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service in Portland. He lives in Gorham, Maine with his wife, Brenda, who is also an educator of more than 35 years. They have four grown children, each of whom was educated in Maine’s public schools before completing successful undergraduate and graduate programs throughout New England.
on to the issues in society -- and that also caused the tragedy -- and advocates for social-emotional learning and character education. She's the author of Nurturing Healing Love: A Mother’s Journey of Hope & Forgiveness, a memoir of her journey toward choosing love and forgiveness, and From Sandy Hook to the World: How the Choose Love Movement Transforms Lives, an in-depth look at how Scarlett founded the Movement and its impact around the world today. The Movement's Choose Love for Schools Program is a no-cost, comprehensive, lifespan, next generation, SEL, and character development program, empowering educators, and students to choose love, handle adversity, and manage their emotions.
Choose Love programming is extended into homes, communities, athletics, and the workplace, and has been accessed in all 50 states and 120 countries, serving three million children. Speaking across the US and internationally to diverse audiences, Scarlett urges everyone to become part of the solution, dedicating her life to helping children and adults around the world to thrive mentally, socially, and emotionally, and she has been instrumental in changing legislation to incorporate SEL into schools. In 2021, Scarlett was named a Forbes 50 over 50 Impact Honoree, one of 50 women leading the way with impact and changing their communities and the world in ways big and small through social entrepreneurship, law, advocacy, and education.
Luncheon Keynote - Monday, March 27, 2023
Dave F. Brown, Ed. D. is currently an educational researcher and author, and professor emeritus in the College of Education and Social Work at West Chester University. Dave is also the executive director of the Vermont Association for Middle Level Education. He has 13 years of public-school teaching experience from 4th – 8th grade—11 of those years at the middle level in the Midwest and Virginia. Dave coached middle and high school male and female athletic teams for all of those years.
Dave taught courses in Young Adolescent Development, Child Development, Culturally Responsive Teaching, and Classroom Management at West Chester University for over 20 years as a professor there. He was an adjunct at Villanova University for 29 years where he taught literacy courses, and courses in middle level and urban education.
Dr. Brown has authored over 30 journal publications and 9 book chapters based on his studies.
Dave’s latest national presentation was at the Association for Middle Level Education Annual Conference in 2022 where he presented the results of interviews, he conducted with middle school LGBTQ+ students. Dave’s latest international presentation was in 2017 at the European League for Middle Level Education Conference in Vienna, Austria.
Dr. Brown is co-author of all three editions of What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know (Brown & Knowles, 3rd ed., 2014). He also authored Becoming a Successful Urban Teacher (2002) and Why America’s Public Schools Are the Best Place for Kids: Reality vs. Negative Perceptions (2012). Dave is currently writing a new book with a working title of Young Adolescents & The Middle Schools They Need scheduled to be released in late 2023.
General Session Keynote - Tuesday, March 28, 2023
A nationally recognized presenter, author, and humorist, Jack Berckemeyer, began his career as a middle school teacher in Denver, Colorado. After two years of teaching, he was named as an outstanding educator at his school, and shortly thereafter he was identified as one of the outstanding educators in the district. In 2003, he received the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Falcon School District. Jack brings his energy, humor, and expertise to all staff development as he helps teachers and administrators remember why this job makes a difference. Jack has presented in conference and school district settings both nationally and internationally. Jack served as a judge for the Disney American Teacher Awards and served on the selection committee for the USA TODAY All-Teacher Team.
Jack Berckemeyer is known for his motivating, practical ideas communicating a message of hope, laughter, and insight into education.
Jack was also the Assistant Executive Director for the National Middle School Association for 13 years and is the author of Managing the Madness - A Practical Guide to Middle Grades Classrooms. He is also the co-author of H.E.L.P. for Teachers. His most recent publications are Taming of the Team - How Great Teams Work Together and Deliberate Optimism - Reclaiming the Joy in Education, co-authored with Dr. Debbie Silver and Judith Baenen.
Jack is the owner of the Nuts and Bolts Symposiums, a highly acclaimed, never boring conference that focuses on practical.
Jack lives in Denver, Colorado and has no pets or plants.
Luncheon Keynote - Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Scarlett Lewis founded the nonprofit Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement after her six-year-old son’s murder in the Sandy Hook tragedy in 2012. She became part of the solution to the issues in society -- and that also caused the tragedy -- and advocates for social-emotional learning and character education. She's the author of Nurturing Healing Love: A Mother’s Journey of Hope & Forgiveness, a memoir of her journey toward choosing love and forgiveness, and From Sandy Hook to the World: How the Choose Love Movement Transforms Lives, an in-depth look at how Scarlett founded the Movement and its impact around the world today. The Movement's Choose Love for Schools Program is a no-cost, comprehensive, lifespan, next generation, SEL, and character development program, empowering educators, and students to choose love, handle adversity, and manage their emotions.
Choose Love programming is extended into homes, communities, athletics, and the workplace, and has been accessed in all 50 states and 120 countries, serving three million children. Speaking across the US and internationally to diverse audiences, Scarlett urges everyone to become part of the solution, dedicating her life to helping children and adults around the world to thrive mentally, socially, and emotionally, and she has been instrumental in changing legislation to incorporate SEL into schools. In 2021, Scarlett was named a Forbes 50 over 50 Impact Honoree, one of 50 women leading the way with impact and changing their communities and the world in ways big and small through social entrepreneurship, law, advocacy, and education.
