Friday Plenary Keynote

Salome Thomas-El
Head of School at Thomas Edison Charter School Wilmington, Delaware

 

The Immortality of Influence: Believing Every Child Can Achieve Their Dreams

“Every child needs someone to be crazy about them.” These words shape Salome Thomas-El’s life-long commitment to answering the question, “How do we ensure that every child achieves their greatest potential?” Central to this challenge is how we succeed with children who are facing the most serious barriers to success: Poverty, violence, neglect, and low expectations. For over 20 years, Principal El has taken on this challenge with the absolute belief that every child can and will learn if the adults in their world care enough not to give up. Starting as a teacher and chess coach at Vaux Middle School and through his years as principal at several public and charter schools, Thomas-El has transformed the attitudes and strategies of school staff , parents, and members of the community to help hundreds of troubled children. He brings to the process a powerful combination of passion, caring, and leadership to craft a refreshing, common-sense roadmap to help kids achieve their dreams, no matter what the odds.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




Saturday Closing Keynote

Bill Corbett
Author, Television Producer/Host, Creating Cooperative Kids


Don’t Give up...You May Be the Only Hope
a Child Has to Grow

Bill Corbett is the author of the book series Love, Limits & Lessons: A Parent’s Guide to Raising Cooperative Kids. As a member of the American Psychological Association and the North American Society for Adlerian Psychology, Bill has provided parent coaching and has spoken to parent and professional audiences across the country. He sits on the board of the Network Against Domestic Abuse and the Resource Advisory Committee for Attachment Parenting International. Raising children in today’s world requires a different approach to discipline and an admission that parents and teachers today need different tools. Bill works closely with parents and professionals to help rebuild the “Discipline Toolbox” and make room for more effective tools and methods that truly work with today’s challenging child.

 

 

Download a full list of workshops. Presenters interested in submitting for next year's conference should check back in September 2012 for application information.