Kathleen Budge brings a blend of 26 years of practical experience as a teacher and administrator combined with more than a decade of work dedicated to bridging the gap between the university and the teaching profession. She is an associate professor of Educational Leadership and Chair of the Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Department at Boise State University, where her research focus on poverty, rural education, school improvement, and leadership development. She is co-author (with William Parrett) of the award-winning book Turning High-Poverty Schools Into High-Performing Schools, and the video series, Disrupting Poverty in Elementary and Secondary Classrooms. Bill and Kathleen’s newest book, Disrupting Poverty: 5 Powerful Classroom Practices, was honored as an ASCD Member book and provided to over 50,000 educational leaders and classroom teachers worldwide as a part of it’s official release in January of 2018. She has conducted numerous presentations at international, national, and state conferences and served as guest speaker for webinars, podcasts, and symposiums related to the topic of poverty and the “whole child.” Her consultancies include state departments, boards of education, education associations, state and regional service providers; as well as schools in 15 states and 4 nations. She earned her doctorate from the University of Washington in 2005. She continues to maintain that her most important and significant work has been teaching first graders to read.

William H. Parrett has received international recognition for his work in school improvement related to children and adolescents who live in poverty. He has co-authored ten books, the past three being best-sellers. His most recent, the award-winning Turning High-Poverty Schools Into High-Performing Schools, with Kathleen Budge, has provided a Framework For Action that has been adopted throughout the nation to guide lasting improvement and student success in high-poverty schools. Bill and Kathleen’s newest book, Disrupting Poverty: 5 Powerful Classroom Practices, was honored as an ASCD Member book and provided to over 50,000 educational leaders and classroom teachers worldwide as a part of it’s official release in January of 2018. As Director of the Boise State University Center for School Improvement & Policy Studies for the past 20 years, Bill coordinates funded projects and school improvement initiatives that currently exceed $5 million annually. He is a frequent speaker at international and national events. His work with state and regional educational organizations, districts, and schools, spans 44 states and 10 nations. Throughout his career, Parrett has worked to improve the educational achievement of all children and youth, particularly those less advantaged. These efforts have positively impacted the lives of thousands of young people, many of whom live in poverty.