Speakers: 2023 Teachers' Institute and Leading Change Conference
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Mike Schmoker | Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Dr. Mike Schmoker is a former administrator, English teacher and football coach. He has written several bestselling books and dozens of articles for educational journals, newspapers and for TIME magazine. His most recent ASCD bestsellers are the expanded second edition of FOCUS: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning and Results NOW, 2.0. The first edition of Results Now was a finalist for “book of the year” by the Association of Educational Publishers.
Mike is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award by the National Association of Secondary School Principals for his publications and presentations. In an Education Week survey of national school leaders, he was ranked among the best sources of “practical advice, wisdom and insight” on effective school improvement.
Dr. Schmoker has consulted and keynoted throughout the US, Canada, Australia, China and Jordan. He now lives in Tempe, Arizona with his wife Cheryl.
John Antonetti | Thursday, June 8, 2023
John Antonetti is a learner. He has had the great fortune to visit over 20,000 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 began his teaching career at middle school but has also enjoyed teaching elementary and high school as well as college chemistry 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. As the former Director of Curriculum in the Sheridan School District in Arkansas, he took what he learned in his home district and developed strategies and protocols that work across all school types. 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 a number of articles, webinars and books including the ASCD best-seller 17,000 Classroom Visits Can’t be Wrong.
His latest book, co-authored with Terri Stice, is entitled #Powerful Task Design and is available as part of the Visible Learning Series by Corwin Press.
Whether he’s on the Kindergarten carpet or in front of 4000 teachers at an international conference, Antonetti continues to learn.
Jimmy Casas | Friday, June 9, 2023
Jimmy Casas has been an educator for over 30 years, serving twenty-two years as a school leader, including fourteen years as Principal at Bettendorf High School. Under his leadership, Bettendorf was named one of the Best High Schools in the country three times by Newsweek and US News & World Report.
Jimmy was named the 2012 Iowa Secondary Principal of the Year and was selected as runner-up NASSP 2013 National Secondary Principal of the Year. In 2014, Jimmy was invited to the White House to speak on the Future Ready Schools pledge. Jimmy is also the author of nine books, including the best-selling books Culturize: Every Student. Every Day. Whatever It Takes, Live Your Excellence: Bring Your Best Self to School Every Day, and Handle with Care: Managing Difficult Situations in Schools with Dignity and Respect. Jimmy’s newest release, Recalibrate the Culture, is already a top-selling book on Amazon.
Jimmy is the owner and CEO of J Casas & Associates, where he serves as a professional leadership coach for school leaders across the country. In January 2020, Jimmy launched ConnectEDD, a publishing company aimed at giving back to the profession by supporting educators to become published authors.
For conference questions, please reach out to [email protected].