Avis Glaze, International Education Expert, Equity & Diversity

Synopsis

Speaker:          Avis Glaze       

Topic Title:              

1. International Education Expert, Equity & Diversity

    Professional Fees subject to change without notice

• $$$ = Under $25,00
• Expenses:    As incurred                
• Travels from:  Delta, BC 
• Expenses for Travel, (air and ground) Accommodations, Meals, Traveling Companion, and Incidentals are not included in the above fees.
• Discounted Fees:  Under rare and special circumstances speakers may discount their fees at their discretion. i.e., booking multiple events with the same client.  Non profit organizations may also qualify for a discount.

Biography

Dr. Avis Glaze is an international leader in the field of education. As one of Canada’s outstanding educators, she has been recognized for her work in leadership development, student achievement, school and system improvement, character development and equity of outcomes for all students.

As Ontario’s first Chief Student Achievement Officer and founding CEO of the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, she played a pivotal role in improving student achievement in Ontario schools. Her primary focus in education is on building capacity to ensure that all students achieve, regardless of background factors or personal circumstances.

It is her core belief that educators play a fundamental role in sustaining democracy. Avis completed two Master of Education programs – one in educational administration, a second in guidance and counselling, and a Doctorate in Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. She also has training in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Advanced Facilitation, and the Assessment of Emotional Intelligence.

She has taught at all levels of the education system, in rural and urban areas, in public and Catholic schools, and at the elementary, secondary, community college and university levels. Avis has been a superintendent of schools in several school districts, an Associate Director of Education with the York Region District School Board and Director of Education of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. At the university level, Avis has been an Adjunct Professor in counsellor and teacher education in faculties of education in Ontario. She also served as an Education Officer with the Ontario Ministry of Education and as Research Coordinator with the Ontario Women’s Directorate of the Ministry of Labour.

In 1994, Avis served as a Commissioner on the Ontario Royal Commission on Learning and had the opportunity to influence the
direction of education in Ontario through the recommendations of the Commission. She has extensive experience in international
education and was chosen by the Canadian government to assist with educational reform in South Africa. She represented Canada
at the UNESCO conference on Inclusive Education in Riga, Latvia. As well, she knows schools across the globe firsthand, having
worked with educators in Australia, England, Finland, Singapore, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, the Caribbean and many parts of the
United States.

Within her community, she served as Chairperson of the Harry R. Gairey Scholarship Fund, helping outstanding black students to
attend university. She has established the Avis Glaze Scholarships with the Markham African Caribbean Association for university
or college education and has supported a scholarship for studies in education at the University of Ottawa.

Avis has received honorary doctorates from several Canadian universities and has won more than thirty awards for outstanding
contribution to education, including Educator of the Year, The Distinguished Educator Award, the 2001 YWCA Women of
Distinction Award, the Harry Jerome Award, the Sandford D. McDonnell Lifetime Achievement Award for Character Education
offered by the Character Education Partnership in the United States, and The Order of Ontario, among others.

After serving as Ontario’s first CEO of The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Avis was later appointed as Ontario’s Education
Commissioner and Senior Adviser to the Minister of Education. Her consulting company, Edu-quest International Inc., offers a wide
range of services internationally. She continues to motivate and inspire educators through speaking engagements and consults with
school districts, non-profit organizations and businesses to maximize talent and achieve results. She also served as Adviser to the
Minister of Education in New Zealand on national standards. Avis continues to be the inveterate learner that she is, taking courses at
every possible opportunity. She recently received designation as a Visible Learning Certified Trainer, in John Hattie’s work, offered
through Corwin Press in Thousand Oaks, California.

Dr. Glaze is a consummate capacity builder in teaching, Improving student achievement, leadership development and school system
improvement. She is skilled at motivating and inspiring teachers, principals, system leaders, policy makers politicians, parents and
business leaders to realize their potential in improving their schools. She co-authored Breaking Barriers: Excellence and Equity for All
(Glaze, Mattingley and Levin) on the high impact strategies to improve education systems in general, and schools in particular.  Her most recent book, “High School Graduation: k-12 Strategies that Work,” (Glaze, Mattingley and Andrews), identifies the research informed strategies to improve graduation rates for all students regardless of socio-economic or other social or demographic factors.

Avis’ international contributions were, once again, recognized when she received the Robert Owen Award, the first of its kind offered
in Scotland. She was also invited to Norway by Queen Sonya to address the issue of how schools can build better societies. Most
recently, she was appointed as one of the International Education Advisers to help overhaul the Scottish education system, focusing
on the government priorities of closing the attainment gap, achieving equity and system reform.

Topics

Dr. Avis Glaze speaks to many topic related to education under the following headings.  Call for further information on each one.

• SCHOOL DISTRICT SERVICES

• PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

• CAREER CONSULTATION & COACHING

• LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

• CHARACTER & CITIZENSHIP DEVELOPMENT

• EQUITY & DIVERSITY

• “SOFT SKILLS” DEVELOPMENT

Testimonials:

Video

Books:

1.

AVIS GLAZE: REACHING THE HEART OF LEADERSHIP: LESSONS LEARNED, INSIGHTS GAINED, ACTIONS TAKEN

Reaching the Heart of Educational Leadership reflects on, and identifies, key leadership lessons learned over a lifetime by an educator who seeks to shift the focus from educating minds to educating hearts, emphasizing the role of affect in interpersonal relationships.  The book discusses the importance of these dynamics in a culture that has become increasingly concerned about the outcomes achieved during one’s leadership tenure – one in which leadership actions and the question of who benefits from our leadership must speak decidedly louder than the pronouncements we make.

2.

AVIS GLAZE: REACHING THE HEART OF LEADERSHIP: LESSONS LEARNED, INSIGHTS GAINED, ACTIONS TAKEN. NORWEGIAN EDITION

Translated into Norwegian – available for purchase in Norway.

3.

AVIS GLAZE:  THE CHILDREN CANNOT WAIT

From her earliest days in Jamaica, as a young girl who was driven to teach others to read, to her rapid rise through all levels of the school system to become the founding CEO of the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat and Ontario’s Education Commissioner, Glaze has been a persistent voice in the belief that there should be no ‘throw-away kids.’

Part biography, part chronicle of achievements, this book will reignite passion and commitment to improve teaching, learning, leadership, and organizational effectiveness.

4.

HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION:  K-12 STRATEGIES THAT WORK

High-impact strategies to improve student outcomes

Based on first-hand experiences from one of the world’s fastest improving school systems, this comprehensive resource provides concrete, detailed, and research-based tools with particular attention to learning progressions. Scaffolded instruction and leadership strategies promote early and sound foundations in literacy and numeracy, build pathways to close achievement gaps, and emphasize character and citizenship development, among other strategies, to improve graduation rates.

5.

BREAKING BARRIERS:  EQUITY AND EXCELLENCE FOR ALL

Breaking Barriers: Excellence and Equity for All is a clarion call to all educators to intensify their efforts to take teaching and learning, student engagement, achievement, and advocacy to new heights.  In recent years, there has been much improvement in schools across the world. There has been a renewed sense of purpose and commitment to help all students push the boundaries of their performance.  And whereas the evidence in quite promising, much remains to be done.  There are still barriers to be broken.

6.

CLASS INTERRUPTED: STRATEGIES FOR POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR

Authored by Avis Glaze, published by Pearson Canada

7.

TOWARDS FREEDOM:  THE AFRICAN-CANADIAN EXPERIENCE

Avis points out that so many of these black students are born in Canada and are, in fact, Canadians. “They have no place to go back to. This is the only home that they know. And yet, so often they are made to feel that they do not belong – mainly because they may look or speak differently from their peers.”  Avis has always believed that when students study their history, they develop a sense of pride in their race, background, and culture. They also develop a greater sense of confidence in their ability to make a difference in society.

ACCESS:  ONE SCHOOL DISTRICT’S RESPONSE TO EXPELLED STUDENTS

In recent years, there has been increased emphasis on the need for policies and programs to address the issue of discipline in schools.  When school districts have no choice but to expel students – particularly those of compulsory school age – because of the gravity of an infraction, the long-term implications for the individual and for society become a matter of serious concern.  In this paper Dr. Avis Glaze expands on one School District’s response to expelled students.