About Dr. Tolbut
As an educator for over twenty years, I witnessed the inequality in our school system every day—inequity that has led our struggling education system to fail our most vulnerable children. Some students succeed while others fall further behind. Few educators aim to exclude, yet subtle and overt biases about identity differences result in lost opportunities for students of color, children with disabilities, girls interested in STEM, English language learners, LGBTQ+ students, and young people facing economic hardships or trauma. Teachers strive and care, but seldom receive preparation to meaningfully empower each child while celebrating diversity and countering discrimination.
I founded Empowering Educators to shift school culture, achieve educational equity, and develop every precious young life to the fullest. Through dynamic inclusion learning for educators, we can transform schools into the vibrant, welcoming havens of safety and possibility our children deserve. Sometimes inclusion feels hard to accomplish in strained systems. But embracing diversity means tapping into boundless creativity and talent. If we nurture, challenge, and provide a sense of belonging for the wonderfully unique students before us, we empower the leaders who will shape a better future. As educators, we must evolve and support one another through courageous conversation, cultural insight, research-based methods, family partnership, individualized teaching, and policy review. Our professional development excites that necessary growth while strengthening educational justice across lines of difference that have divided us for too long.
Together, we can fully unlock the promise of diverse, equitable public education in America. When all school community members experience genuine acceptance, academic innovation follows, leaving no student on the fringe. Our children will lead the way. Are you ready to join this movement of empowerment and justice?
