Nelda Sullivan Middle School opened its doors in 2016 at 1112 Queens Road in Pasadena with Kelly Cook-Costley as its principal. The campus was named in honor of long-serving Pasadena ISD Board of Trustees member, Nelda Sullivan. As a middle school, the campus serves fifth and sixth-grade students. Sullivan Middle was built on the former grounds of Queens Intermediate, which was demolished and rebuilt two blocks away. Over the years, the enrollment at Sullivan has averaged 625 students. 

Principal Kelly Cook-Costley was one of the first leaders to introduce and implement personalized learning in the district. The campus was one of the first middle schools in Pasadena ISD to expand the Personalized Learning Program to fifth and sixth-grade students. As a Summit Learning-certified campus, 100-200 visitors from across the nation come to Sullivan to see how personalized learning works at the middle school level. Nelda Sullivan Middle School is one of about 500 schools and districts in the US and Canada to receive the honor of being recognized by Solution Tree as a Model Professional Learning Community at Work campus for its sustained success in raising student achievement.  In 2023, the campus was awarded the Gradient Learning RISE Award for their commitment to constantly improve the quality of teaching and learning at their school. For three consecutive years, the counseling department has received the Counselors Reinforcing Excellence for Students in Texas (CREST), an award that is sponsored by the Texas School Counselor Association (TSCA). Schools earn the recognition by demonstrating continuous improvement, leadership and engagement, and the role of their school counseling programs in students’ academic, personal/social and career development.

Awards:

• Raise Your Hand Texas campus and grant recipient, 2015-2020;
• Punt, Pass, Kick District Champions 2018-2019 and 2019-2020;
• Punt, Pass, and Kick third-place Southeast Regional Champion, 2019.
• STAAR Distinctions in Reading, Science, and Closing the Gaps 2022;
• Overall campus rating of B Texas Education Agency, 2022;
• CREST Award- 2021, 2022, 2023;
• TEPSA Student Leadership Award, 2024.

List of Principals

• Kelly Cook-Costley, 2016-present