Engaging Talks and Keynotes
Powerful. Practical. Personal.
Dan has committed his life to supporting and celebrating children and teachers. He has led an accomplished career as a teacher and leader and is a sought-after speaker and trainer, using an inspiring mix of humor, personal narrative, and practical teacher advice. He describes himself as “one half teacher, one half poet, and one half humorist.” Like so many of us, Dan stared down his own childhood struggles and turned despair and defeat into a lifetime of success through faith and love for children and teachers. His talks are highly engaging and deeply personal. And, yes, he still believes in the power of schools and in the brilliance of teachers to change the trajectory of children’s lives, as it did for him so many years ago.
Dan’s Books / Author Talks
Remarkable Learning
A Guidebook for Building Creative and Confident Kids (Bloomsbury, London). NEW BOOK. EXPECTED RELEASE DATE: SPRING-SUMMER 2026.
Summary
Every one of our students can develop academic self-confidence and emotional well-being, all the while gaining a deep understanding of their purpose and place in the world. Across the K-12 landscape, we can create classrooms classrooms that are challenging and exhilarating places to be, both for our students and our teachers.
The Instructional Soul
Leading Schools with a Spirt of Innovation (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019).
Summary
Our educational system is comprised of a disconnected assortment of skills, subjects, and departments. This book dares something very different, a system that is fully integrated, aligned, and purposeful. This new framework for curriculum innovation will demand bold leadership and a collective search for our souls.
Popular Keynote Topics
School Design
Yes, I Can. Building a Confidence Curriculum in our Schools
Schools must be in the confidence-building business. There are specific actions that teachers can take to increase grade-level proficiency, elevate student voice, and ensure emotional wellness. We must pay deft attention to those students who feel marginalized and under-appreciated in our schools by giving them the tools and experiences they need to excel. We can design lessons in service to them. We can honor their lived experiences. We can ensure that all students reach high academic standards.
Participant Reviews and Feedback
“An amazing motivator!”
“Fantastic speaker! Funny, energetic, and sincere.”
“Thank you for an incredible, inspirational kick-off speech!”
Strategic Focus
Leading for Results. The Key Levers that Lead to Remarkable Outcomes
Schools can ensure remarkable outcomes for all learners by executing a few strategic actions that work with students every time, without fail. We must narrow our focus and increase our intensity on high-impact strategies that are supported by research and affirmed by our best teachers. Our most successful schools are impacting strong outcomes for all students because they are focused on the right things, not because they are lucky. Make no mistake. They are pulling the right levers, and they ain’t letting go.
Staff Retention
Keeping it Real. Retaining and Celebrating our Best Employees
If we want to grow and retain our best employees, we must honor their worth and voice in more tangible ways. We tend to navigate hiring and professional development around planned obsolescence, like we gotta have more lightbulbs in stock cause they’re gonna burn out soon. It is time to consider a planned coherence approach that provides employees with a personal and professional growth cycle that includes affirmation, recognition, self-expression, and transformation. There is more at play here in cultivating professional growth than viewing things through the narrow prism of promotion and pay. We can do more in giving them voice, honoring their sacrifice, and soaking up their brilliance.
Lesson Design
Learning Ain’t Lucky. High-Impact Instruction That Works w/out Fail
Nothing is more critical to student success than our teachers. No strategy or program we put in place to impact learning will ever replace the profound impact of great teachers executing great instruction. The era of high-stakes assessment and accountability have come at great cost to our students, families, and teachers. The future will require that we honor, celebrate, and learn from great teachers, and invest in refining and executing the teacher’s craft. High impact instructional strategies can ensure academic skill and student self-confidence. Student efficacy can only come from teacher efficacy.
Career Ready
Ready and Able. Applied Learning to Build Student Academic Confidence
Applied learning is the key to improved academic outcomes in moving all students to grade-level proficiency. Come find out what the key strategies are and unlock the secrets to mastering academic content and skills like reading and math fluency. This requires an explicit approach to lesson planning that includes routines for upskilling academic abilities and elevating student voice. If schools are going to remain relevant in the future, career-technical education will be at the forefront. Entrepreneurial skills like creativity and problem-solving will be front and center. Speaking will be our new social currency, and student self-efficacy will be fostered and well-earned.
