Anne Barab, rumored to be the lost love child of Mark Twain and
Lucille Ball, speaks to educators and consults with school districts
that want to balance attitude, reality and behavior to craft schools
of excellence. Her core message helps educators know how to:
- Lead teachers through change;
- Think like a leader in a NCLB world;
- Thrive in the win/lose challenge of AYP;
- Improve student achievement.
Anne helps education leaders create learning communities where:
- Kids learn more,
- Teachers teach better,
- Principals empower, and
- Everyone grows.
Anne’s common sense strategies and dynamic speaking style
anchor learning in the minds of listeners. Her entertaining keynotes
and seminars are packed with humor and interactive exercises,
which help educators focus on improving student achievement. She
has energized and enlightened teachers, principals, administrators,
superintendents and board members nationally and in 20 states.
Anne began her career in the telecommunications industry, then
moved into insurance, banking and financial services. She shattered
the glass ceiling when she became the first female Chief Operating
Officer of a $1.4 billion mortgage bank. Anne served three terms
as an elected board member of a large, very diverse school district
in Dallas, Texas. Her district was named one of the Top 100 school
districts in the nation in a study conducted by The Wall Street
Journal. She earned the Master Trustee designation from the Texas
Association of School Boards Leadership program and has completed
over 450 hours of board raining. She also served on the executive
board of the North Texas Area Association of School Boards. Her
board was honored twice as one of the top five school boards in
the state. Anne’s service on this high-performing board
makes her a compelling presenter for education leaders.
She’s written a book, The Leadership Path, and over 40 articles
about education and family living. She is accredited by the Texas
Education Agency and presents frequently for the National Staff
Development Council. However, her greatest claim to fame is being
married for thirty-four lo-o-ong years to the same engineer, having
three children who are not currently in jail, and being voted
Best Smelling Mom by her son’s first grade.
“You understand public policy-making because you’ve
been there. You’ve walked your talk.”
Wisconsin Association of School Boards
“You convinced me it is my responsibility to lead
from anywhere I sit on the bus.”
Texas Educational Secretaries Association
“Anne scored 4.9 out of 5.0 from the audience. A typical
comment was ‘best ever’.”
Oregon School Boards Association
“Anne totally changed the mindset of my board president.
Now he supports our staff development.”
Farrigut Schools, Iowa
Topic: GOVERNANCE
The NCLB Survival System
How to Improve Student Achievement
The No Child Left Behind law is forcing school districts across
the nation to reinvent the way they think, act and manage their
organizations. Accountability legislation is re-engineering the
face of public education – from curriculum and testing to
staff development and compensation – every district must
re-examine its management strategies. Anne’s three-term
experience as a board member of a nationally recognized school
district provides educators specific strategies for improving
leadership, resource allocation, teacher staff development, and
school district governance to improve student learning.
Topic: CHANGE
You Can’t Make Me Change Anything but my Underwear!
How to Lead Teachers through Change
With education on the political agenda, everyone is telling teachers
how to teach. Accountability legislation, standardized testing,
disaggregated test scores and AYP are making education professionals
across the country feel angry and overwhelmed. Anne’s strategies
and techniques help teachers reduce stress and adjust to dynamic
change. Her enlightening program will enrich teachers’ personal
and professional lives as they become more resilient, more confident,
more resourceful and more enthusiastic.
Topic: LEADERSHIP
Leading from the Back of the Bus
How to Think Like a Leader in a NCLB World
What’s happened to the credibility of education leadership?
The media has painted educators as largely incompetent and our
educational system as failing miserably. We know that is not true,
but what must we do to change this perception and meet the Adequate
Yearly Progress mandated by No Child Left Behind? Laughing about
her public leadership life, Anne reveals principles of leading
by influence and example that she learned as a three-term school
board member for a high-performing district. She
challenges educators to think like leaders, regardless of title
or position. Anne inspires people to discover the leader within.
Topic: ACCOUNTABILITY
Winning the Game of Education
How to Thrive in the Win/Lose Challenge of AYP
No Child Left Behind has changed the rules of the education game.
Now schools win or lose every year based upon the standardized
test scores of their lowest-performing students. What’s
a teacher, principal, superintendent, board member to do? Focus
of WHAT and HOW teachers are teaching and create a culture of
learning throughout the system. Using the National Staff Development
Council standards, Anne’s high-energy experience provides
educators with specific strategies for creating the
right mix of resources and quality professional development to
make Adequate Yearly Progress in student achievement.
“Anne convinced me it is my responsibility to lead
from anywhere I sit on the bus.”
Texas Educational Secretaries Association
“We are using your strategies to become more effective
agents of change with our students and their families.”
Dallas Independent School District
