Leading Change

John Antonetti is a learner. He has had the great fortune to visit classrooms throughout North America in an effort to answer the question “What truly engages learners?” From thousands of students in pre-K through Graduate School, John has learned the three facets of powerful learning tasks—intellectual, academic, and emotional engagement. John Antonetti is a teacher. He has taught A.P Chemistry and Kindergarten and most grades in between in his home state of Arkansas. Once described by Larry Lezotte as a “teacher’s teacher,” Mr. Antonetti works with schools across the country and Canada on student engagement, writing, rigor and relevance, and high-yield best practices. He has partnered with five school districts that were awarded the nationally-recognized Broad Prize for Urban Education. While hands-on work in schools is his passion, John is also a highly-sought keynote speaker. His humor and parables are recognized by teachers, administrators, and parents as relevant examples of the power of teachers. Antonetti is the author of the book, Writing as a Measure and Model of Thinking which utilizes the engagement cube and practical tools to increase student thinking in all subject areas. With his late business partner and friend, Jim Garver, John co-authored the ASCD book 17,000 Classroom Visits Can’t be Wrong: Strategies that Engage Students, Promote Active Learning, and Boost Achievement.

Whether he’s on the Kinder carpet or in front of 4000 teachers at an international conference, Antonetti continues to learn.

Liz Dozier

A lifelong educator, Liz Dozier has spent her career working tirelessly to interrupt the culture of inequity that is often pervasive in urban education. Dozier is most known for her innovative and creative approaches as a school principal to successfully addressing the complex needs of the whole child. In 2016, Dozier launched Chicago Beyond, a privately held organization that supports nonprofits working to improve life outcomes for young Chicagoans. Chicago Beyond invests in and analyzes new, innovative ideas and scalable programs to address two urgent issues that are flip sides of the same coin – youth safety and educational attainment. Over time, Chicago Beyond aims to leverage its findings to spark further public and philanthropic investments in work that does the most good per dollar to improve the lives of Chicago’s young people. Liz Dozier was also the star of CNN docu-series Chicagoland, which chronicled her experience as a Principal in Chicago Public Schools.

Bryan Harris

Bryan Harris serves as the Director of Professional Development and Public Relations for the Casa Grande Elementary School District in Arizona. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and a Master of Educational Leadership degree from Northern Arizona University. In 2013, he earned a doctorate (EdD) from Bethel University in Minnesota after studying factors impacting new teacher retention. He also holds a certification in brain-based learning from Jensen Learning Corporation.

Having served in many roles in education – from a classroom teacher to a principal and now a central office leader – Bryan understands the challenges teachers and school leaders face as they strive to meet the needs of all students. Each year, he speaks to thousands of educators all over the country on the topics of student engagement, motivation, classroom management, and brain-based learning. He is author or coauthor of several books including the popular 2010 book Battling Boredom. He can be reached at www.bryan-harris.com

 

Download a flyer

Hattie Kauffman

Hattie Kauffman started her broadcast career on college radio at the University of Minnesota. Next, she began to report and anchor for KING 5 News in Seattle, earning four Emmy awards. ABC’s Good Morning America whisked Hattie to New York in 1987, where she served as a Special Correspondent and frequent substitute anchor. In 1990, Hattie moved to CBS News as a correspondent and substitute anchor on CBS This Morning. In her two decades with the network, Hattie also reported for 48 Hours, Street Stories, Sunday Morning, CBS Radio, CBS Special Reports, the Early Show, and CBS Evening News. Hattie’s memoir, Falling Into Place, was released in September 2013.