Speaker Information

Dr. Marvin Thompson
Keynote Speaker
Educator / Leader / Author

Dr. Marvin Thompson is the Chief Academic Officer for Future Is Now Schools and an educational leader whose approach to school leadership is effective and transformational. An experienced educator, Dr. Thompson combines his extensive experience and a "systems thinking" approach to increase both student achievement and teacher effectiveness, through educational training and support, to schools and school divisions through implementation of quality management systems. Beginning in 2012, Dr. Thompson has focused his talents and expertise to turnaround the historical John McDonogh High School in New Orleans.

Prior to joining Future Is Now Schools, Dr. Thompson served as President of EmpowerEd, assisting schools and organizations such as The University of South Africa, Green County Public Schools and other urban school districts in the acquisition of capacity building skills leading to long-term improvement.

Dr. Thompson has previously served as superintendent of the Roanoke City Public Schools where he increased the number of accredited schools by 25%, closed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) achievement gap in all subgroups, increased the number of students that passed the Commonwealth of Virginia assessment tests, increased student retention, developed construction management protocols ensuring on-time and in-budget delivery of services, and developed an award winning strategic plan. Dr. Thompson's proven leadership narrowed the achievement gap between low‐income and minority students and their peers.

Dr. Thompson has authored articles on leadership and test scores, and has spoken at conferences on leadership, strategic planning and school improvement.

Dr. Thompson received his Ed.D. from George Washington University, his M. Ed from Virginia Commonwealth University and his B.A. from Randolph Macon- College.

Marvin is the proud son of a former U.S. Marine Sergeant Major, and the father of two college students.

For more information on Dr. Marvin Thompson, you can read more at: http://www.oprah.com/own-blackboard-wars/Blackboard-Wars-Dr-Marvin-Thompson#ixzz2LYgxB0Lj

Dr. Thompson will also be the Keynote Speaker at our Parent Engagement Summit on July 17th.

Noma LeMoine, Ph.D.
Key Presenter

Noma LeMoine, Ph. D., is the Chief Educational Officer (CEO) and sole proprietor of LeMoine and Associates Educational Consulting, a company dedicated to assuring excellence in education for traditionally underperforming students including Standard English Learner (SEL) populations.

Dr. Noma LeMoine's career in education spans 35 years. She is a nationally recognized expert on issues of language, literacy acquisition and learning in African American and other Standard English Learner (SEL) populations. She has written and spoken extensively on the topic and is a highly sought-after consultant to colleges, universities, and school districts nationwide.

Dr. LeMoine's vast experience in education includes serving as a Language and Speech Consultant to Headstart Programs with primary responsibility for training early education teachers in instructional strategies that promote language and literacy acquisition in inner city pre-school students. She has served as a classroom teacher and "Mentor Teacher" and a Language, Speech and Diagnostic Specialist. Dr. LeMoine has over 25 years of experience in administrative positions including serving as program Administrator and Coordinator of the Los Angeles Unified School district's Speech, Language and Aphasia Programs, and as Principal, Investigator and Director of Operations of the NASA funded Maxine Waters Saturday Academy for Student Advancement in Math, Science and Communications, a proposal she wrote and was awarded $600,000 by NASA to implement. Dr. LeMoine has served over 10 years as Adjunct Professor at California Universities and colleges, two years as Commissioner on Education for the California Speech, Language and Hearing Association, and ten years as a member of the National Citizen's Commission on African American Education, an arm of the Congressional Black Caucus Ed Brain Trust.

For twenty years, Dr. LeMoine served as Director of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Academic English Mastery Program (AEMP). The AEMP implemented in 81 schools, is a comprehensive, research-based program designed to address the language acquisition and learning needs of Standard English Learner (SEL) populations. The Program supported teachers, administrators, and paraeducators in effectively incorporating culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy into core instruction. Under Dr. LeMoine's visionary leadership, the Academic English Mastery Program became the national model for addressing the language, literacy and learning needs for African American and other students for whom Standard English is not native. The Program has been featured on 60 Minutes, in periodicals including Education Week and Teacher Magazine, in the PBS Documentary "Do You Speak American" and has been lauded by linguists as the exemplary instructional model for addressing the language acquisition needs of African American Standard English Learners (SELs).

Dr. LeMoine also served ten years as Director of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Closing the Achievement Gap Branch. In this role, she oversaw implementation of the District's closing the achievement gap initiatives intended to eliminate disparities in educational outcomes for under-achieving students. During this period the district saw improved academic achievement scores in both African American and Latino/Hispanic student populations.

Dr. LeMoine holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Southern California with a specialization in Language, Literacy, and Learning. She holds a Master's degree in Language and Speech Pathology and Audiology from California State University at Los Angeles, and a second Master's degree in Education.

Dr. LeMoine's research interests and expertise include language and literacy acquisition in Standard English learner (SEL) populations and methodologies for improving language acquisition and learning in culturally and linguistically diverse students. Dr. LeMoine writes curriculum, designs and conducts professional development for teachers, administrators, paraeducators, and parents and consults with institutions of higher learning and K-12 schools relative to advancing learning in SEL populations. She has conducted seminars and been guest lecturer at Colleges and Universities throughout the United States including Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis, the University of Southern California, and others, and at school districts across the United States. Dr. LeMoine has served on numerous California State Department of Education committees including over 5 years with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Her work has taken her on educational exchanges to Africa, India, China and the Caribbean.

Dr. LeMoine has received many professional honors including, the California Speech, Language and Hearing Association, "Outstanding Achievement Award" (1988), the "Lois V. Douglass, Distinguished Alumnus Award" from the Department of Communication Disorders at California State University, Los Angeles, 1991, and in April of 1992, Dr. LeMoine was named Fellow of the California Speech Language and Hearing Association, one of the organization's highest honors. In June of 1995, Noma was the recipient of the NAACP. Legal Defense Fund's "Black Woman of Achievement Award" and in 1997, Mount St. Mary's College awarded Dr. LeMoine the "Cultural Fluency Award" in recognition of outstanding contributions to the development of cross-cultural understanding in the Los Angeles Community. In June of 2005, the Association of California School Administrators bestowed upon Dr. LeMoine the Region XVI Valuing Diversity Award for her work in Los Angeles Unified School District toward closing the achievement gap and in February of 2008, the Southern California Chapter of the California Alliance of African American Educators bestowed upon Dr. LeMoine, the Asa G. Hilliard III, "Will to Educate Award" for distinguished service on behalf of African American students. In June 0f 2009, Dr. LeMoine was honored with the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education "2009 Trailblazers Award" and in November of 2009 she was the recipient of the "Distinguished Educator Award" from the Southern California Affiliate of the National Council of Negro Women.

« Previous | Next »