Photo Contest Winner Valerie Villa, American Overseas School of Rome

ELMLE Porto

Bridges: Support, Connect, Balance


What a fantastic weekend of learning and connecting in the Invincible City! Our 37th annual conference was a huge success thanks to our teacher presenters, featured speakers, exhibitors, the Pestana Douro hotel staff, and the sunshine! We've issued a call to action around our theme of Bridges in order to support, connect, and balance learning and wellbeing. What was the one thing that you committed to during the conference? How will you make an impact, and what will you share next year in London?


Remember that all of the session handouts and resources are on the Whova App, and everything will be available until the end of April. If there is anything you'd like to make sure you have access to for a longer time, be sure to download it!


Thanks again for your engagement and for expanding our professional network. If you're feeling inspired, consider submitting an article for ELMLE News or the Bridge in the Middle blog. We look forward to welcoming you to London next year!

Love our logo? We do too!

The #ELMLEPorto logo was created by Aya Akerman and Anastasiia Litovchenko, two grade 8 students at the American Overseas School of Rome, as part of our annual logo design contest.

In this real-world learning experience, students were asked to include the theme of the conference, as well as a visual representation of Porto, our host city. As part of the design brief, they were provided with the HEX codes for the ELMLE colors and a vector copy of the official ELMLE logo to incorporate into the design. The ELMLE Steering Committee received more than 40 entries!

The designers, Aya and Anastasiia, received an Amazon gift card, and their nominated teacher, Jennifer Bogart, received a complimentary pre-conference registration at #ELMLEPorto!

Check out the ELMLE Blog

The ELMLE Blog, Bridge in the Middle, contains articles from our featured presenters and from educators in the classroom.

What Our Teachers Say

  • “I always like everything about ELMLE. It has a ‘special vibe’. Everyone is always eager to learn and make connections.”

  • "Wow, what a graceful digital pivot. So impressed. Thanks for keeping the ELMLE spirit thriving."

  • "Thank you for making the registration so easy and for organising such interesting and helpful online learning events."

  • "It's such a welcoming, supportive community of MS educators, and I appreciated being able to make connections to other people who work in middle school...A perfect size to interact and work with fellow educators."

  • "I left feeling inspired with renewed determination. I enjoyed the entire conference, from lectures to networking...the amazing culture of friendliness, collaboration, great humour, fabulous people."

  • "It was lovely to have reflection and planning time to set goals...great balance in terms of topics between well-being, multilingualism, leadership, and sexuality education."

  • "I really value the ability to resync my thinking back to what is best for my students. We, as teachers, always get caught up in all of the clutter and noise of educational expectations. It is always good to go to a conference with your colleagues and your principals to have our lens refocused back to really what is best for our kids."

  • "The speakers and the variety of teacher presenters provided easy, useable tools for immediate implementation in the classroom."

The European League for Middle Level Education

ELMLE is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting middle level education. Founded in 1986, ELMLE is an international affiliate of the United States’ Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE).

ELMLE’s global membership comprises schools and individuals in Europe, and includes members from such countries as the United States, South Africa, India and China. A ten-member steering committee, elected by its diverse membership, organizes its annual European educational conference.

Mission Statement

The European League for Middle Level Education is dedicated to inspiring administrators and teachers of young adolescents to improve their knowledge and professional practices which promote positive student learning. Our main task is to sponsor an annual conference for middle level educators.

Association for Middle Level Education

AMLE is our parent organization. If your school is an ELMLE member school, you are also an AMLE member, and you have access to all of their resources and benefits. Check out www.amle.org to access these resources.

Schools of Distinction

Learn more about the research-based traits and practices of a Successful Middle School and how your school can earn the AMLE Schools of Distinction honor.