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School Climate & Culture Forum
Ron Clark
"America's Educator," NYTimes Bestselling Author, Disney's American Teacher of the Year
Known to many as “America’s Educator,” Ron Clark is the 2000 Disney American Teacher of the Year, a two-time New York Times Bestselling author, the subject of a television movie and the founder of The Ron Clark Academy. Ron is regularly featured on network and cable television and was dubbed by Oprah Winfrey as her first “Phenomenal Man.”
Early in his career, Ron pioneered innovative projects in rural North Carolina working with minority students in a low wealth area. His highly effective programs garnered national attention and led to a White House invitation. After watching a television piece chronicling low test scores and the lack of teachers in inner-city New York, Ron packed his car and moved to Harlem. Ron prepared himself by visiting the home of each student before the first day of school. He involved his students in projects in the city and state, and his “low achievers” soon began to excel; by the end of the year, their scores were higher than the “gifted” classes in his district.
In 2003, Ron Clark released the New York Times Bestseller, The Essential 55, which includes his 55 expectations of students – as well as all individuals – young and old. Obviously, Ron Clark did not stop there. In 2006, Ron Clark founded The Ron Clark Academy, an inner-city school serving students from across metro Atlanta. The privately funded institution is unique for its innovative teaching methods and curriculum based on worldwide travel. Each year the students apply their in-class lessons to international adventures. By the time of graduation, each child will have visited six of the seven continents. Almost 50,000 educators, teachers and administrators from around the world have visited the Academy to observe the innovative and “outside-the-box” methods for achieving student success.
In 2011, Ron Clark released The End of Molasses Classes: Getting Our Kids Unstuck–101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers. This New York Times Bestseller brought to light 101 innovative and classroom-tested ways for improving America’s schools and leading children to greatness.
Baruti Kafele
School Turnaround Specialist, Author of Closing the Attitude Gap
One of the most sought-after education speakers in America, Baruti Kafele is impacting America’s schools! An expert in the area of “attitude transformation,” Principal Kafele is a leading authority for providing effective classroom and school leadership strategies toward closing what he coined “The Attitude Gap.” As a middle and high school principal, Principal Kafele led the transformation of four different New Jersey urban schools, including “The Mighty” Newark Tech, which went from a low-performing school in need of improvement to national recognition, including being recognized three times by U.S. News and World Report as one of America’s best high schools. A prolific writer, he is the author of eight books which include his national bestsellers Closing the Attitude Gap, Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life, The Principal 50 and The Teacher 50. His 9th book, Is Your School Better BECAUSE You Lead It? is forthcoming. Principal Kafele is the recipient of more than 150 educational, professional and community awards which include the prestigious Milken National Educator Award, the National Alliance of Black School Educators Hall of Fame Award, and induction into the East Orange, NJ Hall of Fame.
Gerry Brooks
Real-World Educator & YouTube Sensation
Long before Gerry Brooks made YouTube videos, he was a regular, fun-loving, principal at an elementary school in Lexington, Kentucky. His educational experience includes six years in the classroom, two years as an intervention specialist, and 12 years as an administrator. Gerry is a passionate public speaker whose focus is on encouraging and helping teachers improve their instructional abilities via climate and culture strategies and helping administrators successfully lead their staff in a positive and constructive manner. His following of more than 500,000 people on social media has developed through humorous videos that focus on real-world educational experiences.
Robert Jackson
Award-Winning Author, Publisher, International Speaker
Robert Jackson is the author of The No More Excuses Curriculum featuring No More Excuses: Black Men Stand Up!, No More Excuses: The Workbook, No More Excuses: Solutions to Educating Black and Latino Males, and No More Excuses: Put a Stop to Bullying. A national speaker and consultant, Robert Works to reverse the dropout rates of black and Latino males and to create positive change in school systems across the country and abroad to bridge the gap between parents, teachers, administrators and students. Robert was awarded the Key to the City in Miami by the Mayor after his keynote address at the 5000 Role Models Scholarship Program where 45 black and Latino males received both a laptop computer and a full scholarship to any Florida university.
Larry Thompson
Supportive Discipline Innovator, Creator of Responsibility-Centered Discipline
Author of Roadmap to Responsibility and Give ‘em Five, Larry Thompson, M.Ed., is often called upon to deliver keynote presentations for state and national education conferences because of his knowledge, humor and passion for assisting today’s students. He has helped thousands of educators and schools throughout North America break away from their traditional discipline models to a model that creates a responsible climate and responsible students. Larry has served in a wide variety of roles in education – from special education teacher to alternative and traditional high school principal. As creator of the Responsibility-Centered Discipline program, Larry understands that systems must be created that can be realistically implemented and sustained.
Steph Jensen
International Speaker, Consultant, Author of Thrive in the Hive
Steph Jensen, MS, LPC is an award-winning author and international speaker recognized for her insight and understanding of relational aggression. She combines 15 years of practice in the fields of education and counseling with research, practical strategies and humor to address challenging behaviors and build positive relationships with kids. She has held positions as classroom teacher, education consultant and international speaker. She holds a master’s degree in clinical counseling, focusing her efforts on adolescent and family issues.
In recent years, Stephanie has applied her passion for adolescents to focus on the dynamics of relational aggression, social-emotional learning, and positive behavior interventions. She is the author of Thrive in the Hive: Surviving the Girl’s World of Good and Bad Relationship Bee-haviors, Mom’s Choice Award-winning Princess Priscilla and the Bully-Bee Day, Princess Priscilla and the Mood Ring Rainbow and her latest Princess Priscilla and the Great Beezilla!
School Climate & Culture Forum
Heather Forbes
Founder of Beyond Consequences Institute, Author of Help for Billy
Heather T. Forbes, MSW, LCSW, is the founder of the Beyond Consequences Institute in Boulder, Colorado. Heather has worked in the field of trauma and healing since 1999. She is an internationally published author on the topics of raising children with difficult and severe behaviors, the impact of trauma on the developing child, adoptive motherhood, and self-development. Her books include the international bestseller Help for Billy, The Trauma-Informed School, Beyond Consequences, Logic or Control and Hand in Hand. Coming from a family of educators, Heather has a heart for children in the classroom and for finding ways to teach the child who seems “unteachable.” Her signature style is to bridge the gap between scientific research and real-life application to equip parents, educators and therapists with practical and effective tools. Much of her experience and insight on understanding trauma, disruptive behaviors, and adoption-related issues comes from her direct mothering experience of her two adopted children.
Steph Jensen
International Speaker, Consultant, Author of Thrive in the Hive
Steph Jensen, MS, LPC is an award-winning author and international speaker recognized for her insight and understanding of relational aggression. She combines 15 years of practice in the fields of education and counseling with research, practical strategies and humor to address challenging behaviors and build positive relationships with kids. She has held positions as classroom teacher, education consultant and international speaker. She holds a master’s degree in clinical counseling, focusing her efforts on adolescent and family issues.
In recent years, Stephanie has applied her passion for adolescents to focus on the dynamics of relational aggression, social-emotional learning, and positive behavior interventions. She is the author of Thrive in the Hive: Surviving the Girl’s World of Good and Bad Relationship Bee-haviors, Mom’s Choice Award-winning Princess Priscilla and the Bully-Bee Day, Princess Priscilla and the Mood Ring Rainbow and her latest Princess Priscilla and the Great Beezilla!
Baruti Kafele
School Turnaround Specialist, Author of Closing the Attitude Gap
One of the most sought-after education speakers in America, Baruti Kafele is impacting America’s schools! An expert in the area of “attitude transformation,” Principal Kafele is a leading authority for providing effective classroom and school leadership strategies toward closing what he coined “The Attitude Gap.” As a middle and high school principal, Principal Kafele led the transformation of four different New Jersey urban schools, including “The Mighty” Newark Tech, which went from a low-performing school in need of improvement to national recognition, including being recognized three times by U.S. News and World Report as one of America’s best high schools. A prolific writer, he is the author of eight books which include his national bestsellers Closing the Attitude Gap, Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life, The Principal 50 and The Teacher 50. His 9th book, Is Your School Better BECAUSE You Lead It? is forthcoming. Principal Kafele is the recipient of more than 150 educational, professional and community awards which include the prestigious Milken National Educator Award, the National Alliance of Black School Educators Hall of Fame Award, and induction into the East Orange, NJ Hall of Fame.
Mike Paget
International Speaker, Consultant, Author of Defying the Defiance
Mike Paget currently works as a consultant to schools throughout North America to help them better teach challenging students. As a state consultant for students with severe emotional and behavioral problems, he worked with ODD, CD and other special needs students for more than 25 years. Mike is an innovator of effective approaches for working with extremely challenging students and has conducted seminars across the U.S. and Canada on creative techniques for managing classroom behavior, student aggression and crisis intervention. He is co-author of Aggressive and Violent Students and Defying the Defiance. His newest book is High on the Spectrum: Asperger’s, High-Functioning Autism & Related Personalities.
School Climate & Culture Forum
Dr. J. Stuart Ablon
Harvard Professor, Founder of Think:Kids, Author of The School Discipline Fix
J. Stuart Ablon, Ph.D., is the Director of Think:Kids in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also Associate Professor and the Thomas G. Stemberg Endowed Chair in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ablon is author of the books Changeable: The Surprising Science Behind Helping Anyone Change, Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach and The School Discipline Fix.
Dr. Ablon received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and completed his training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ablon was ranked #5 on the list of the world’s top rated keynote speakers in the academic arena. Dr. Ablon trains parents, educators, and clinicians, and helps organizations throughout the world implement the Collaborative Problem Solving approach.
Dr. William Noel
District Director of Student Support, National Speaker & Consultant
“The two most important days of your life are the day you were born, and the day you find out WHY.” This quote from Mark Twain perfectly captures Dr. William Noel’s personal calling and dedication to working with children. That higher calling and dedication is why Dr. Noel remains committed to being an influential role model for all students, but especially for the (sometimes) Hard-to-Reach students. Dr. Noel emphasizes the importance of connecting with those students through establishing genuine relationships, and teaching them to make better decisions. He would be the first person to debate that knowing WHO you teach may be more important than WHAT you teach. Dr. Noel began his journey in education as a substitute teacher, then as an alternative education teacher, social studies teacher, coach, assistant principal, and now district administrator. When asked by a colleague if he was going to miss teaching, Dr. Noel replied, “I will always be a teacher; just no longer from a classroom.”
Julia Cook
Award-Winning Author of Nearly 100 Children's Books on Social Development
Julia is nationally recognized as an award-winning children’s book author and parenting expert, and her books have been referenced in such publications as Parent’s Magazine, The New Yorker, Green Child Magazine, The Huffington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Yahoo.com, DrLaura.com and BabyZone.com. She has also been featured on CNN’s HLN News and several large metropolitan networks.
Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Julia became actively involved in teaching children how to ski, an experience that led to a love of teaching in general. Julia now lives in Fremont, Nebraska. Her Master’s degree is in Elementary School Counseling. While serving as a guidance counselor, Julia often used children’s books to enhance her classroom lessons.
Julia has presented in thousands of schools across the country and abroad, regularly speaks at national education and counseling conferences. She has published nearly 100 children’s books on a wide range of characters and social development topics. Julia’s books showcase her innate ability to enter the worldview of a child through storybooks, giving children both the “what to say” and the “how to say it.”
The goal behind Cook’s work is to actively involve young people in fun, memorable stories and teach them to become lifelong problem solvers. Inspiration for her books comes from working with children and carefully listening to counselors, parents and teachers, in order to stay on top of needs in the classroom and at home.
In her spare time, Julia enjoys spending time with her husband, family and puppies.
Robert Jackson
Award-Winning Author, Publisher, International Speaker
Robert Jackson is the author of The No More Excuses Curriculum featuring No More Excuses: Black Men Stand Up!, No More Excuses: The Workbook, No More Excuses: Solutions to Educating Black and Latino Males, and No More Excuses: Put a Stop to Bullying. A national speaker and consultant, Robert Works to reverse the dropout rates of black and Latino males and to create positive change in school systems across the country and abroad to bridge the gap between parents, teachers, administrators and students. Robert was awarded the Key to the City in Miami by the Mayor after his keynote address at the 5000 Role Models Scholarship Program were 45 black and Latino males received both a laptop computer and a full scholarship to any Florida university.
Larry Thompson
Supportive Discipline Innovator, Creator of Responsibility-Centered Discipline
Author of Roadmap to Responsibility and Give ‘em Five, Larry Thompson, M.Ed., is often called upon to deliver keynote presentations for state and national education conferences because of his knowledge, humor and passion for assisting today’s students. He has helped thousands of educators and schools throughout North America break away from their traditional discipline models to a model that creates a responsible climate and responsible students. Larry has served in a wide variety of roles in education – from special education teacher to alternative and traditional high school principal. As creator of the Responsibility-Centered Discipline program, Larry understands that systems must be created that can be realistically implemented and sustained.
Dr. Susan Coleman
Dr. Susan Coleman has spent most of her career as a teacher and administrator in the field of special education. She earned her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Northern Illinois University and currently serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services in Lake Zurich, Illinois. She has served on the Illinois State Leadership Team for Disproportionality and School Discipline and has presented locally and nationally on such topics as autism, cyberbullying, multi-tiered systems of support, diversity in education and behavior management. Dr. Coleman has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and is the author of Just One Click: The Eternity of Cyberbullying – What Schools Need to Know and co-author of The Suspension Question: Bridging the Gap Between Prevention, Intervention and Suspension.
Steph Jensen
International Speaker, Consultant, Author of Thrive in the Hive
Steph Jensen, MS, LPC is an award-winning author and international speaker recognized for her insight and understanding of relational aggression. She combines 15 years of practice in the fields of education and counseling with research, practical strategies and humor to address challenging behaviors and build positive relationships with kids. She has held positions as classroom teacher, education consultant and international speaker. She holds a master’s degree in clinical counseling, focusing her efforts on adolescent and family issues.
In recent years, Stephanie has applied her passion for adolescents to focus on the dynamics of relational aggression, social-emotional learning, and positive behavior interventions. She is the author of Thrive in the Hive: Surviving the Girl’s World of Good and Bad Relationship Bee-haviors, Mom’s Choice Award-winning Princess Priscilla and the Bully-Bee Day, Princess Priscilla and the Mood Ring Rainbow and her latest Princess Priscilla and the Great Beezilla!
Mike Paget
International Speaker, Consultant, Author of Defying the Defiance
Mike Paget currently works as a consultant to schools throughout North America to help them better teach challenging students. As a state consultant for students with severe emotional and behavioral problems, he worked with ODD, CD and other special needs students for more than 25 years. Mike is an innovator of effective approaches for working with extremely challenging students and has conducted seminars across the U.S. and Canada on creative techniques for managing classroom behavior, student aggression and crisis intervention. He is co-author of Aggressive and Violent Students and Defying the Defiance. His newest book is High on the Spectrum: Asperger’s, High-Functioning Autism & Related Personalities.
School Climate & Culture Forum
Atlanta
June 24-28, 2020
4 Conferences for the Price of 1!
School Climate & Culture Forum
At-Risk & Struggling Students Conference
School Discipline Conference
Girl Bullying & Empowerment Conference
School Climate & Culture Forum
At-Risk & Struggling Students Conference
School Discipline Conference
Girl Bullying & Empowerment Conference
June 24-28
Las Vegas
July 6-10, 2020
6 Conferences for the Price of 1!
School Climate & Culture Forum
Innovative Teaching Strategies Conference
School Discipline Conference
Boy Brains & Engagement Conference
Wired Differently Conference: Trauma Informed Schools
NextGen School Safety Conference
School Climate & Culture Forum
Innovative Teaching Strategies Conference
School Discipline Conference
Boy Brains & Engagement Conference
Wired Differently Conference: Trauma Informed Schools
NextGen School Safety Conference
July 6-10
Orlando
August 5-8, 2020
5 Conferences for the Price of 1!
School Climate & Culture Forum
Boy Brains & Engagement Conference
School Discipline Conference
Innovative Teaching Strategies Conference
Counseling Strategies & Resources Conference
School Climate & Culture Forum
Boy Brains & Engagement Conference
School Discipline Conference
Innovative Teaching Strategies Conference
Counseling Strategies & Resources Conference
August 5-8