BARBARA BLACKBURN

Ranked number 4 in the Top 30 Global Gurus in Education, Barbara has dedicated her life to raising the level of rigor and motivation for professional educators and students alike. What differentiates Barbara's eighteen books are her easily executable concrete examples based on decades of experience as a teacher, professor, and consultant. Barbara's dedication to education was inspired in her early years by her parents, Bob and Rose. Her father's doctorate and lifetime career as a professor taught her the importance of professional training. Her mother's career as school secretary shaped Barbara's appreciation of the effort all staff play in the education of every child.

Barbara has taught early childhood, elementary, middle, and high school students and has served as an educational consultant for three publishing companies. She holds a master's degree in school administration and is certified as both a teacher and a school principal in North Carolina. She received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teaching from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In 2006, she received the award for Outstanding Junior Professor at Winthrop University. She recently left her position at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to write and speak full-time.

In addition to speaking at state and national conferences, she also regularly presents workshops for teachers and administrators in elementary, middle, and high schools. Her workshops are lively and engaging and filled with practical information. Her most popular topics include:

Rigor is NOT a Four Letter Word
Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way
Rigorous Assessments
Rigor and Differentiation in the Classroom
Motivation + Engagement + Rigor = Student Success
Research-Based Engaging Instruction Leads to Higher Achievement
High Expectations and Increased Support Lead to Success

Rigor in the Remote Learning Classroom

In the midst of the pandemic, many schools are moving to full or partial remote learning. This shift is particularly challenging, both for leaders and teachers. In this keynote, we'll look at practical leadership strategies you can use to inspire your teachers, as well as several classroom-based strategies you can share with teachers. A comprehensive handout packet will include two mini-professional development sessions you can lead for your teachers, either on-site or remotely.

This is a preview of Barbara’s three-part webinar to be presented in mid-October. For more information and to register visit the ACEL website.

COMING SOON
Rigor in the Remote Learning Classroom

Learn how to keep the rigor and motivation alive in a remote learning or hybrid K–12 classroom. In this essential book, bestselling author Barbara R. Blackburn shares frameworks and tools to help you move online without compromising the rigor of your instruction.

7 Strategies for Improving Your School

This book provides the busiest leaders with an accessible set of tools that can immediately be deployed to positively impact their school. Authors Ronald Williamson and Barbara R. Blackburn explore the COMPASS model—Culture; Ownership and Shared Vision; Managing Data; Professional Development; Advocacy; Shared Accountability; and Structures to Sustain Success—as an overall framework for school improvement.