Anthony Colannino

Anthony Colannino has spent more than two decades in classrooms, principal offices, and district leadership suites asking a single question: how do we create environments where every adult and every student can grow? He speaks on growth mindset, leadership culture, and school and organizational improvement, drawing from his work as a teacher, elementary school principal, and Senior Fellow at the International Center for Leadership in Education. His message is practical, research-grounded, and delivered with the kind of joyful energy that reminds educators why they entered the profession.

From Classroom to Consulting
Colannino has worked in school settings ranging from the rural poverty of eastern Washington to the affluence of the Metro Boston suburbs, consulting for districts in Philadelphia, the Bronx, Compton, Cincinnati, and beyond. Before his work with ICLE, he served at Mindset Works Inc., the e-learning company co-founded by growth mindset researcher Dr. Carol Dweck, helping districts operationalize her research through leadership development and improved teacher practice. One of the Boston-area schools he helped lead was recognized by the Massachusetts Department of Education for high achievement and narrowing the proficiency gap.

Building Cultures of Hope
As president of his consultancy Leading and Teaching for Growth, Colannino has presented and coached coast to coast, developing professional development that drives real results. His keynotes on cultures of hope and growth empower teachers, principals, and system leaders to act on what they know.

Anthony Colannino delivers keynotes on growth mindset, leadership development, and building high-performing school cultures.

What does Anthony Colannino speak about?

Anthony Colannino speaks on bullying prevention and student empowerment, helping schools build cultures where every student feels safe and valued. His keynotes give educators and administrators practical tools for creating positive school climates.

What is Anthony Colannino’s background?

Colannino is an educator and anti-bullying advocate who has built his speaking career around student empowerment and positive school culture.

Who books Anthony Colannino to speak?

Meeting planners book Anthony Colannino for education conferences, school leadership events, and audiences focused on bullying prevention and student wellbeing.

The Power of Relationships

How many of you know the name of every child in your building and details about their life?

How about the adults? It’s amazing the culture leaders can create when they ask a few simple questions, provide many opportunities to listen, and show they truly want to know those under their care—both the students and staff. Not only are there endless possibilities when a constellation of adults comes together through a common mission, but it’s more fun working with and leading people you know. Just like kids, adults need safety, as well as the means to be motivated to learn and the support to try. In this keynote, Anthony will share the characteristics leaders must instill and cultivate to strengthen relationships, create and sustain a positive culture that values resilience, build empathy, and increase student success.

Learning Mindset for All Stakeholders

Mindset can ignite learning. Often this is how we come to decisions for our vocation and on-going curiosity. But, growth mindset is only one piece of several components of learning mindset. In this keynote, Anthony will share practices that can be implemented to have all students learn that I can, I belong, and I seek are essential to impact their own outcomes.

Navigating Culture Shift

A strong school culture is key to student achievement, but changing or improving it can be nebulous. While a positive culture is easy to identify, it’s also challenging to create and shape. This shift won’t succeed if it falls solely to the leader or even a group of leaders; it is the responsibility of all stakeholders to create a culture through conscious actions and reactions, meaningful traditions, and high expectations for all—students, staff, and families—through agreed-upon goals, strong communication, and collaborative actions. In this keynote, Anthony will share how to successfully navigate school transformation and reveal best practices for pulling school communities together to build a positive, student-centered culture.

Contagious Educator

In this interactive session discover how being a contagious educator is a good thing!

Meaningful growth occurs in our schools, when teachers and leaders alike provide effective inspiration that leads to a cumulative impact in learning. If teachers teach approximately 1,000 hours a school year and leadership engages in 10 hours or less of professional development or discussions on how to improve, somehow leaders must impart mission, vision and values through any and all interactions to inspire a sense of urgency, growth and support. The same can be said of students, who do most of their living outside the classroom. Teachers must become a trusted foothold for their students reaching beyond their current level of understanding and in need of risk-taking that drives learning. Cultural elements of growth, techniques to inspire, the language of learning and a sense of joy in making the impossible, possible are symptoms worth spreading across classrooms, schools and districts.

Expanding Your Comfort Zone

Fear of failure and appearing dumb is a power fix-minded trigger that curtails learning and growth. Mistake tolerant and skill-based learning through guided practice allows children and adults to face their fears and create environments in which meaningful learning occurs. In this session, participants will reflect on their past and current mindsets and how each effected an outcome. Through self-realization, educators will gain a greater sense of empathy and understanding for their staff and students and how to create learning cultures where fear is constricted through the expansion of comfort – a place where the hard work of a rigorous and relevant curriculum becomes the norm.