Reclaiming Our Calling

In Pursuit of Learning That Lasts . . .

This genre-busting book captures the heart, mind, and hope of education like no other. Through a series of interwoven stories, award-winning educator and principal Brad Gustafson reminds us of what we’ve known all along: Children are more than numbers, and we are called to teach and reach them accordingly.

Reclaiming Our Calling will empower you to . . .

Talk about learning that lasts in tangible terms
Teach on behalf of the whole learner by tapping into their strengths
Take steps toward meaningful change regardless of your role
Understand and lead with the 4 Passions of the Profession and invite others to do the same
—–

“ . . . an inspiring call to action.”
—John R. Ryan, president and CEO, Center for Creative Leadership

“ . . . powerful classroom stories, reflective-thinking opportunities, and practical strategies.”
—Donalyn Miller, author and literacy advocate

“ . . . a great resource for teachers to get back to the core of great teaching and learning.”
—Josh Stumpenhorst, teacher, librarian, author, and speaker

“Reclaiming Our Calling is a gift to all educators.”
—Jessica Cabeen, author, speaker, and nationally distinguished principal

“ . . . it’s a message many educators badly need right now.”
—Peter DeWitt, EdD, author/consultant, Finding Common Ground blog (Education Week)

“ . . . a physical manifestation of the heart and soul of education.”
—Dr. Tony Sinanis, educator, author, and speaker

“ . . . a rallying cry for all educators . . . and policy makers should take notice.”
—Gov. Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia

Reclaiming Our Calling is available on Amazon! Chat with Brad Gustafson on twitter @gustafsonbrad or check out his website for more information about Reclaiming our Calling.

September 18, 2018

Unleash Talent

Students need teachers and school leaders who are at their best—

and being your best happens when you know your strengths
and boldly use them to empower others.

Talent often hides in the most unlikely people and places. Hidden talents serve no one, but when you learn how to spot and release talent, you can make your school amazing for everyone. In Unleash Talent, educator and principal Kara Knollmeyer explains that by exploring the core elements of talent—passion, skills, and personality traits—you can uncover your gifts and help others do the same.

It doesn’t matter if you are a teacher, administrator, or custodian; your unique talents can make a powerful impact on your school community. Knollmeyer’s insightful guide walks you through a powerful process of self-discovery. She notes that scores, job satisfaction, happiness, and teacher retention improve when every member of the school community is encouraged to use their unique gifts. You’ll learn . . .

Why we should bring our passions to work
How to draw out and build on existing skills
Why we should embrace our unique and varied personality traits

All learners—children and adults alike—have special talents just waiting to be unleashed.

“Kara Knollmeyer provides tried and true strategies to bring out the best in all students and staff.”

—Beth Houf, principal and coauthor of Lead Like a PIRATE

“If you want to learn how to build better relationships with kids and adults and how to value the talent in our buildings, read this book immediately!”

—Salome Thomas-EL, award-winning principal, speaker, and author

“Written with sincerity and a commitment to lifting up and celebrating all educators, Unleash Talent is a must-add book for any teacher’s reading list!”

—Dr. Jennifer Williams, professor, education strategist, and global educator

“This is a book that will help readers bring out the best in themselves as well as their colleagues and their students.”

—Jeffrey Zoul, EdD, author, speaker, and president of ConnectEDD

February 25, 2018June 13, 2018

Kara Knollmeyer

Biography

Kara Knollmeyer is a wife, daughter, sister, and administrator in St. Louis, Missouri. Kara is an award-winning educational leader who has been recognized for her contributions to the educational field. In 2017, Kara received the Midwest Spotlight Educator (METC) Award and in 2013 received the Missouri Outstanding Beginning Teacher Award (Missouri Association of Colleges for Teacher Education).

Kara has had the honor of being apart of incredible opportunities throughout her journey in elementary and secondary education. Kara has an abundant amount of experiences as a teacher, Language Arts Team Leader, New Teacher District Facilitator, Language Arts and Social Studies Curriculum Writer and Mentor Teacher. Currently, Kara serves as a Middle School Assistant Principal.

Kara believes everyone has unique gifts that only they can share with the world. Therefore, her mission is to unleash the talent of ourselves and others so we ALL can become who we were born to be, inside and outside of the school setting. She believes that through lifting and building up the people within our school communities, we can ignite a culture of purpose so we can see the strengths of all learners, adult and children alike!

Kara is also a passionate blogger and speaker in the educational sphere. You can connect with Kara on her blog, karaknollmeyer.com and through Twitter on @karaknollmeyer and #UnleashTalent.

Areas of Expertise

Unleashing the Talents Within You, Colleagues, and Students!
Building a Positive and Collaborative School Culture
Inspiring Staff, Teacher, and Student Leadership
Effective Language Arts Instruction
Developing Meaningful Professional Development
Purposeful Technology Tools for Learners
Social Media for Staff, Students, and School Communities

Keynotes and Workshops

Unleash Talent for You, Staff Members, Teachers, and Students!

Talent is underrated. In our school systems, we see our students as talented, but often do not reflect those same thoughts when it comes to ourselves as adults. We often fail to recognize that we as staff members and teachers are the foundation of our school; Our talents, strengths, and passions are valuable and precious, just like our students. Just as we teach and reach the whole student, we need to teach and reach the whole adult. Therefore, we need to start finding, noticing, appreciating, embracing, and supporting the talents that our ADULT learners have. Not only will this radically change the school system by boosting teacher retention and happiness, but it will positively shift the way we interact and teach alongside students. No matter what your role is in education, we each have talents waiting to be awakened.

This keynote is based on Kara’s book, Unleash Talent: Bringing out the Best in Yourself and the Learners you Serve. Based on what you or your group needs, this keynote/session can be centered on how to bring out the talent in all parties, or it can focus on a singular group: Yourself, Staff, Teachers, or Students!

Discover Your T3’s (Passions, Personality Traits, and Skills)
Dive into a guided session filled with learning, journaling, and deep self-reflection. Take a closer look to become one with your passions, personality traits and skills by honing in on T3 you already have, while noticing new T3’s you may have never noticed before. In addition, before leaving the session, you will be guided through ways that you can personally use your T3’s to live a more fulfilled life at school and at home!
Teaming Up for T3’s
Every single person in our school system has T3’s that they are either untapped or could be taken to another level. How we approach our colleagues and acknowledge their unique strengths and abilities will form a direct correlation to true teaming, collaboration and unity. During this session, you will be guided with your teams to determine your own T3’s, and to learn about the specific talents of your team members. You will also be guided through team and reflection hands-on exercises to discover how we can lift one another up while gifting our school with the gifts we have to offer one another and our students!
Showcase Student TalentsOnce we understand our own T3’s, how do we help our students bring our their own talents in their lives and in the school setting? Learn how to guide students into discovering their own T3’s, while exploring and diving into practical and innovative ways to integrate the talents of your students into the school day to help make school a more purposeful place for each student who walks in our buildings.School culture is not one more thing to add it to your day- It is the essential piece that must be woven into everything we do, no matter what our roles are. As staff members and leaders, we each have to take personal accountability for the energy we bring to the spaces we occupy: Hallways, classrooms, and every inch of our building. Our values and actions have to match up in order for our culture to flourish. Whether we realize it or not, we each are currently setting either a positive or negative tone in our building- And our people are taking notice. Within this session, you will learn the top habits of positive educators, how to use your talents to make school a better place for you and those around you, and to learn many practical ideas to embed into your classroom and school. As you leave this session, you will be inspired to cultivate a positive school culture now, while leaving a meaningful trademark for years to follow.
- Developing Engaging and Meaningful Teacher Professional Development
With teacher workloads heightening by the year, every minute of teacher professional development (PD) should be valued in gold! Learn how to: Purposefully build and organize a meaningful PD vision for your school (and how to adjust along the way), properly gain insight from staff members and stakeholders, and how to empower teachers and staff to lead based on their talents so together we can make progress on your school vision, mission, and purpose.This session can be differentiated based on the specific PD needs of your building.
- Engage Students, Staff, and Your School Community with Social Media
Are you wondering how you can use social media in your school or classroom? Would you like to take digital learning and sharing to the next level? Receive an in-depth look at how to use social media in the classroom and school safely to engage students, families, and staff members in ways that will transcend learning! By gaining a focus and following simple strategies and ideas, you can get students and families even more excited about school, build endless connections with the world around you, and boost student learning and performance in more ways than you could ever fathom! This session can be differentiated to focus on different social media platforms and can be catered to staff members, families, students, and/or school leaders.

Paperwork and medial tasks can drown any administrator if they are not careful. It is crucial, that through our hectic and important days, that we build ourselves for efficiency. Within this session, you will see ways to get the biggest bang for your buck, while gaining more of your sanity and happiness back! You will see and receive practical ideas, tools, and a multitude of resources I have created that have helped me, as a current administrator, spend more time on building relationships and making a difference, while spending less time on paperwork!
- Cultivating a Positive School Culture for Today, Tomorrow, and Years to Come
School culture is not one more thing to add it to your day- It is the essential piece that must be woven into everything we do, no matter what our roles are. As staff members and leaders, we each have to take personal accountability for the energy we bring to the spaces we occupy: Hallways, classrooms, and every inch of our building. Our values and actions have to match up in order for our culture to flourish. Whether we realize it or not, we each are currently setting either a positive or negative tone in our building- And our people are taking notice. Within this session, you will learn the top habits of positive educators, how to use your talents to make school a better place for you and those around you, and to learn many practical ideas to embed into your classroom and school. As you leave this session, you will be inspired to cultivate a positive school culture now, while leaving a meaningful trademark for years to follow.
- Developing Engaging and Meaningful Teacher Professional Development
With teacher workloads heightening by the year, every minute of teacher professional development (PD) should be valued in gold! Learn how to: Purposefully build and organize a meaningful PD vision for your school (and how to adjust along the way), properly gain insight from staff members and stakeholders, and how to empower teachers and staff to lead based on their talents so together we can make progress on your school vision, mission, and purpose.

This session can be differentiated based on the specific PD needs of your building.
- Engage Students, Staff, and Your School Community with Social Media
Are you wondering how you can use social media in your school or classroom? Would you like to take digital learning and sharing to the next level? Receive an in-depth look at how to use social media in the classroom and school safely to engage students, families, and staff members in ways that will transcend learning! By gaining a focus and following simple strategies and ideas, you can get students and families even more excited about school, build endless connections with the world around you, and boost student learning and performance in more ways than you could ever fathom!

This session can be differentiated to focus on different social media platforms and can be catered to staff members, families, students, and/or school leaders.
- Tips and Tools for Administrator Efficiency: How to Get the Biggest Bang for Your Buck so you Can Spend Less Time on Paperwork and More Time Making a Difference
Paperwork and medial tasks can drown any administrator if they are not careful. It is crucial, that through our hectic and important days, that we build ourselves for efficiency. Within this session, you will see ways to get the biggest bang for your buck, while gaining more of your sanity and happiness back! You will see and receive practical ideas, tools, and a multitude of resources I have created that have helped me, as a current administrator, spend more time on building relationships and making a difference, while spending less time on paperwork!
How Do I Even Blog?
Blogging is a transformative way to reflect on your own learning, while connecting with the world around you. Learn my process for blogging: How I capture what inspires me, plan and make the time for blogging, and what tools and resources I use along the way. By the end of this session, you will be able to walk away and have a strong sense of how to blog professionally and personally, while being able to transfer these skills and ideas for students as well.Book Kara Knollmeyer

June 21, 2017July 8, 2019

Empower

Kids begin their learning journey as curious problem solvers who ask questions and create solutions. As they go through school, something happens to many of our students, and they begin to play the game of school, eager to be compliant and follow a path instead of making their own.

As teachers, leaders, and parents, we have the opportunity to be the guide in our kids’ education and unleash the creative potential of each and every student. In a world that is ever changing, our job is not to prepare students for something; instead, our role is to help students prepare themselves for anything.

In Empower, A.J. Juliani and John Spencer provide teachers, coaches, and administrators with a roadmap that will inspire innovation, authentic learning experiences, and practical ways to empower students to pursue their passions while in school.

Compliance is expecting students to pay attention. Engagement is getting students excited about our topics, interests, and curriculum. But when we empower students, they crave learning that is both meaningful and relevant to their life, now and in the future.

Empower is for you if …

You are a teacher eager to get students making, designing, and creating their own learning path in (and out of) the classroom
You are a superintendent, district administrator, or principal who is leading change and working to help your staff thrive in a twenty-first-century learning environment
You are a coach, staff developer, or teacher leader who is crafting professional learning experiences and wants to encourage colleagues to be the guide on the ride

Empower is focused not only on what happens when students own their learning but also on how to reach a place where that is possible in the midst of standards, set curriculum paths, and realities of school that we all have to deal with. Written by real educators who are still working in schools and with teachers, Empower will provide ways to overcome these challenges and turn them into opportunities for our learners to be unabashedly different and remarkable.

Empower is available on Amazon! Join the conversation online using the hashtag #EmpowerBook and learn more at EmpowerBook.co.