School leaders shoulder an enormous responsibility—keeping schools safe and orderly while giving every student a real chance to succeed. Yet too often, disruptive and disrespectful behavior triggers a cycle of suspensions that push students further away from belonging and achievement. Policies and safety must always be honored, but what if there were ways to accomplish what suspensions are intended to do—restore order and promote success—without pushing students out? Read More >

This talk invites principals to see beyond behavior and into the potential of their students.

Using the solution-focused approach, principals will learn how to: Read Less ^

• Handle misbehavior through conversations and engagement strategies instead of exclusion.
• Use questions, not quick punishments, to uncover what students need and motivate them toward success by using students to help define what needs to change.
• Tap into Maslow’s essential principle of belonging by helping even the most challenging students find their place in school through activities, programs, and personal connection. 

This keynote or workshop reveals how the words we choose can shape not just classroom behavior, but the mental wellness of our students—and ourselves. In a time when students face unprecedented stress, anxiety, and disengagement, educators need more than rules and consequences; they need connection and hope. Read More >

This talk offers a mindset shift that transforms how interactions occur between students and teachers, changing behavior.

Learn how solution-focused questions invite students to see their own strengths, build resilience, and actively create the learning environment they need. The bonus? When students feel heard and supported, teachers experience less stress and more joy in their work.

How to Use Solution-Focused Language
Teachers and staff will practice changing labels like “defiant” or “unmotivated” into meaningful descriptions that uncover student needs and strengths, and as a result, will recognize how to respond differently to bring out student compliance and success.

Live Demonstrations of Conversations That Build Student Mental Wellness
Metcalf will show how short, powerful conversations help students find their own solutions, no matter how tough the situation is! She will share how to calm anxieties and re-engage students in learning—while simultaneously lightening the emotional load on teachers.

Hands-On Scenario Practice
Educators will work in pairs on real-life student scenarios, practicing solution-focused conversations designed to shift student behavior, improve mental wellness, and create a classroom climate where both students and teachers thrive.

Outcome:
Teachers will leave with ready-to-use strategies to foster mentally healthy classrooms, where students feel empowered and connected—and where teachers rediscover the joy and reward that brought them to the profession in the first place. Read Less ^

Every teacher enters the profession with a spark—but in today’s classrooms, that spark can feel buried under behavior issues, disengaged students, and overwhelming demands. Teaching on Fire reignites that spark by showing educators how to harness their own strengths and those of their students, using the proven, hopeful tools of the solution-focused approach. Read More >

Through inspiring real-life stories and practical, ready-to-use techniques, teachers will learn how to:

Transform classroom management from reactive discipline to proactive collaboration.

Handle behavioral issues—even those “scary students”—with calm confidence and solutions that stick.

Re-engage students who seem shut down, angry, or disconnected by tapping into what matters to them most.

Create a classroom climate where students build their own solutions, take ownership of their learning, and thrive.

Outcome: The result? A classroom culture where challenges turn into opportunities, relationships grow stronger, and teaching feels joyful and rewarding again. This keynote is not about working harder—it’s about changing the conversation, unlocking hope, and watching both teachers and students rise together. Read Less ^