About Laurie Gabriel

Laurie Gabriel is a lifelong educator. She began teaching in 1984 and has witnessed many changes in the field, including watching her one-page yearly evaluation sheet evolve into a twenty-page quarterly document, and seeing standardized tests morph from an educational tool to a means of punishment. She has seen the coming and going of dozens of school improvement programs that were often only used for a few months before being discarded. Most importantly, Laurie has seen countless peers (including herself) heartbreakingly leave the profession before retirement age; from the first-year teacher who couldn’t make it three months, to the star teacher who took his life after his students’ test scores were published in the paper.

 

In addition to her long teaching career, Laurie is an accomplished speaker and Tedx Talk alum, an author and documentary film producer, a John Maxwell Certified Coach, a member of the National Speakers Association, and a certificated conflict resolution mediator. She is dedicated to helping schools provide a joyful atmosphere for everyone within their walls.