Patti Kinney speaks, presents, and consults on middle-level education. She is a past president of the Association for Middle Level Education and of the Oregon Middle Level Association. In 1996, she was Oregon Assistant Principal of the Year; in 2003, she was both Oregon Principal of the Year and the Met-Life/NASSP National Middle Level Principal of the Year. Kinney has written several books, including Fostering Student Accountability Through Student- Led Conferences and (with Laurie Barron) What Parents Need to Know about Common Core and Other College-  and Career- Ready Standards and Middle School: A Place to Belong and Become. Her numerous articles include regular pieces in NASSP's Principal Leadership.