Rick Ackerly - Educator, Speaker & Author

RickAckerly.com

GENIUS IN CHILDREN | ADVISOR TO HEADS | SPEAKING AND COACHING | BOOK TESTIMONIALS | RICK’S BLOG | ABOUT THE AUTHOR | CONTACT

About Rick Ackerly

Rick Ackerly is a nationally recognized educator and speaker with 45 years of experience working in and for schools.

With a master’s in education from Harvard University, Rick has devoted his career to building thriving learning communities. He has served as headmaster of four independent schools and has been a consultant and coach to teachers, school leaders and parents for many years.

Rick speaks to parent and school groups across the country. He also presents at numerous education conferences including the People of Color Conference, the California Association of Independent Schools, the Coalition of Essential Schools, the Symposium on Students with Learning Disabilities, Progressive Education Network, the National Association of Episcopal Schools, and the Pacific Rim Conference. He has been an active participant in the annual “Call to Action” conference sponsored by the National Association of Independent Schools’ Office on Diversity and Multicultural Education.

His articles about education and diversity have appeared in The Independent School, Multicultural Education, Education Week, the New York Times. Rick publishes a new essay each week on his blog www.geniusinchildren.org. The second edition of his first book, The Genius in Every Child: Encouraging Character, Curiosity and Creativity in Children (Lyons Press/Globe Pequot Press 2012) is available on his website.

Advisor to Heads

Leadership Advisor

Rick is an advisor to Heads of Independent Schools. With thirty-four years of experience as head of four different schools, Rick continues to be a trusted advisor and mentor to school heads on the full gamut of educational challenges, and now advises leaders in all walks of education.

Administrators, Teachers, Parents, Students count on him for council and coaching on issues from personnel challenges to personal confusion– from a leadership challenge to a communal meltdown.

“We are not perfect; we all need others to help us keep in touch with our lost genius, especially in times of crisis.”

Three one-hour sessions for $500 may be enough to fix or at least to assess the situation.

Session One: Come to understand the challenge you are facing, and design a tactic for testing our understanding.

Session Two: Design strategy and tactics for addressing the challenge.

Session Three: A) Problem solved? What did you do right? B) Not? Analyze what worked or didn’t and decide what should be done going forward.

Speaking and Coaching

Rick Ackerly offers a variety of popular talks for parent and school groups as well as professional associations. Such talks include workshops for school leaders and speeches at a variety of conferences (Learning and the Brain, People of Color, Pacific Rim, National Association of Independent Schools, California Association of Independent Schools, the Coalition of Essential Schools, the Symposium on Students with Learning Disabilities, the Association of Episcopal Schools, The Progressive Education Network, etc.).

A popular workshop includes a professional development workshop for teachers during the day and a talk with parents in the evening.

For more information about talks, presentations and speaking engagements please contact:
rackerly@gmail.com

FOR PARENTS

The Genius in Children
How to bring out the best in our children.
Content and Character
How can we insure that young people graduate with the disciplines that will build character and meet the challenges of college and beyond with grace and confidence?
Surviving the Rigors of Applying to College
How parents can help their high school student (and their family) to thrive (or at least survive) the challenging college application process.

FOR SCHOOL LEADERS

Leadership When it’s Out of Control
Each of us has a genius. How to bring our whole selves to a crisis especially when we are down and vulnerable.
Content and Character
How can we help parents and teachers achieve a school’s most critical outcomes? How can we insure that young people graduate with the disciplines that will build character and meet the challenges of college and beyond with grace and confidence?
The Uses of Diversity
How creating a culture of diversity creates a better learning community. What are the essential elements of a culture of diversity, and how can you build them into your school? For school leaders: teachers, administrators, parents and trustees.