From Uncertainty to Success: Strategies to Thrive for K-12 Educators

Join fellow educational leaders for an insightful panel discussion you won’t want to miss, sponsored by BARR Center. During the session, principals and a leading mental health practitioner will give concrete examples of four strategies they have used to succeed amidst the changes and challenges in education. You can expect to learn directly from leaders in this session how to:

You’ll walk away from the event refreshed and refocused with actionable strategies you can use right away. During this event, experts will provide you with practices to address both staff members and students’ needs to help them excel in the classroom and thrive beyond. 

We hope to see you there!

Register today!

Prepare for the new year with learning new strategies and opportunities to help each and every student succeed. Save your spot and register early to be part of a discussion you won’t want to miss! 

Our Panelists

Frank Camacho

Eisenhower High School Principal

Francisco S. Camacho Jr., a proud Eisenhower High School graduate, Class of 1989, has over 25 years of classroom teaching, coaching and administrative experience. He is in his third year of principalship at Eisenhower High School. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from California State University, San Bernardino in 1995, and his master’s degree in Educational Leadership from California State University, San Bernardino in 2001. As a resident of the city of Rialto, Principal Camacho understands the responsibility that all students deserve the finest education possible. He works with students and staff strategically implementing best practices to ensure that equity and access are available to all students. Mr. Camacho, who also has two daughters in the Rialto Unified School District, is compassionate and concerned with improving and advancing college-based curriculum and continuing to improve graduation rate for Eisenhower High School students. Thank you for supporting EHS, where we promote: A Legacy of Excellence.

Ed Mathews

South Fort Myers High School Principal

Ed Mathews is the proud principal of South Fort Myers High School. He believes that all students have a pathway for success. This approach for student achievement has blessed Mr. Mathews with the following awards: 2017 Person of the Year presented by News-Press, 2019 High Impact Principal presented by the Florida DOE, and the 2020 Principal of the Year for the School District of Lee County presented by the Teachers Association of Lee County. South Fort Myers High School is in the second year of implementing the BARR model with its students, teachers, and staff. 

Dr. Dionne Olamiju

Spring Valley High School Assistant Principal & Future Leaders Academy Administrator

Dr. Dionne Olamiju is an Assistant Principal at Spring Valley High School in Rockland County, New York. She is currently the administrator for the Future Leaders’ 9th Grade Academy where the BARR program is implemented and where significant improvements have been noted in students’ academic progress including in the area of promotion from 9th to 10th grade. Dr. Olamiju believes that when students receive consistent emotional and social supports from their school community they will excel academically. Additionally, she believes that community organizations must partner with schools in order to mitigate the disparities that exist in education. As a result she has forged great partnerships with many community organizations that provide in-school supports to students and their families. Dr. Olamiju received her bachelor’s degree from Lehman College, master’s degree from the College of New Rochelle and her Doctorate Degree from St. John Fisher College where she focused on factors that foster resilience in students.

Dr. Mark Sander

Hennepin County Senior Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Mark Sander, Psy.D., LP earned his doctorate from the Minnesota School of Professional Psychology in 2000. Dr. Sander is a Senior Clinical Psychologist for Hennepin County and the Director of School Mental Health for Hennepin County and the Minneapolis Public Schools. In that role, he coordinates the Minneapolis Expanded School Mental Health Program and conducts research and evaluation on the program and provides technical assistance to the Hennepin County School Mental Health Initiative. In addition, Dr. Sander is a Visiting Scholar at Wilder Research and is a member of the Advisory Board for the Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Sander is a Certified Master Trainer in the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study and for the past four years has been providing training and consultation on developing trauma-informed organizations and trauma-sensitive schools. He also is on the Board of Directors for the MN Trauma Project. Dr. Sander has published several journal articles and book chapters on school mental health and has presented extensively on school mental health and ACEs and developing trauma-sensitive schools at local, state and national conferences. Dr. Sander also has a private practice in Minnetonka, MN and lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Sarah and their three daughters.

Dr. Emily Shaw

Hemet High School Principal

Dr. Emily Shaw earned her doctorate from the University of LaVerne and has worked in the field of education since 1996. Dr. Shaw has been the Principal at Hemet High School in the Hemet Unified School District since 2010. Her school was one of the original BARR schools in the nation and completed the first randomized control trials. Dr. Shaw has served as principal in the K-8 and K-5 setting prior to her work at the high school. As a teacher, she taught first, second and fourth grades. Dr. Shaw has been Western Riverside County Association of School Administrators Co-Administrator of the Year, Riverside County Woman of the Year and recognized by BARR for her work as an early adopter of the program. She is married with an 11- year-old son and 5-year-old daughter.  

Our Moderator

David Osta

Education Consultant and Strategist and BARR Trainer

David Osta is a career educator who is passionate about equity-focused work throughout our youth and family serving systems. At BARR Center, he works as an on-call trainer. His current work also includes working in early learning and early care, and as advisor to a new K-12 philanthropic effort. His experience includes leading a school improvement and turnaround team and various roles bridging between policy and practice at education non-profits and state government. David began his career teaching fifth grade in Washington, DC as a Teach for America corps member and also taught middle school math and science in Chicago.