Living Education eMagazine Summer Edition XXI

CONTRIBUTORS’ BIOs. Rufus Lott @lott_edu Founder of LOTT Educational Consultants Mr. Rufus Lott III is the founder of LOTT Educational Consultants and lead consultant specializing in the area of Restorative Practices in schools. Most recently Mr. Lott served the North East Independent School District in San Antonio, TX as the Assistant Principal of Edward H. White Middle School. Mr. Lott played an instrumental role in the development, and implementation of restorative practices as an alternative method to deal with managing student behavior. This innovative, whole school approach model was the first of its kind in the state of Texas and has been considered the blueprint that many campuses across the state of Texas are following. Mr. Lott has 12 years of experience in public education in elementary and middle school as a classroom practitioner and administrator. As a former administrator Mr. Lott‟s passion is rooted in social justice and working with educators to better serve diverse student populations. His focus is on teaching real-life, applicable, strategies that are essential for educators to utilize when working with both students and teachers. Today, he teaches restorative practices to teachers and administrators as an alternative method to exclusion, and as a means to build positive relationships and strong communities through dialogue using the circle process. Mr. Lott received both his Bachelor‟s and Master‟s Degrees from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He graduated as a member of the Urban School Leadership Cohort (USLC), which is a nationally recognized preparation cohort, that prepares educational leaders for the principalship, by using practical, theoretical, and research based approaches to promote social justice in urban school districts.

Dr. Ayize Sabater Entrepreneur @AyizeS Dr. Ayize Sabater is a dynamic social entrepreneur, author and twenty-year veteran educator. He has co-founded several non-profits, including an independent school, an award-winning non-profit organization and a D.C. Montessori Public Charter School. Mr. Sabater is an alumnus of Morehouse, the Wesley Theological Seminary and Morgan State University. He also has completed Montessori primary assistant training.

Daniel Blanchard K-12 Educator and Educator @dan007blanchard Dan Blanchard has done his homework. He‟s been an inner-city school teacher and athletic coach for 20 years and has a passion for teaching, inspiring, and working with teens. “It‟s tough for a lot of kids today. They don‟t always have someone they can talk to. I started writing the Granddaddy books for kids who have questions, or really want some guidance, but don‟t have anyone around them they feel comfortable approaching. I speak because it isn‟t fair to expect kids to know how to become leaders and citizens without help. It‟s up to us to help them.” As an award winning author, speaker, educator, and life coach, Dan shares real-life lessons and inspiring stories with audiences of teens, adults, educators, and sometimes a mixture of all three. His goal is to positively influence the way we think about what is possible, regardless of how old we are.