Dr. George J. Barnes
Dr. George J. Barnes has been an administrative leader in education for over a decade and has worked in schools at all levels from substitute teacher to Superintendent. His passion for equity has led to working primarily in urban school environments in his efforts to better understand the challenges as well as mine for solutions with thought partners and practitioners.
As a student of organizational culture, Dr. Barnes has enjoyed working with fellow teammates to develop positive work cultures around the cornerstones of building relationships with students and families, connecting to student relevance, and high expectations and support for all stakeholders.
As a teacher, Dr. Barnes has worked as a self-contained Special Education teacher, social studies teacher, humanities teacher, and a coach for multiple sports all in the name of pushing students and programs to excellence. As an Assistant Principal and Principal, Dr. Barnes committed himself to building cultures of high achievement for students to dig deep into themselves to achieve their personal level of life success.
Working in the post-secondary venue, Dr. Barnes has worked with several universities and colleges as an adjunct and fulltime professor, has offered mentorship to a variety of teachers and teacher leaders, and has published his research for empirical data to add to growth in the field. Dr. Barnes is also a published author. His book, Rise My Setting Son is a look inside the historical, social development of the Black male in America through the lens of a fictitious conversation between a father and son. The book offers historical content, social commentary, and the conversation of ownership of the present and future of the Black community and the country as a whole. An Arizona resident, Dr. Barnes has committed to the work to strive for equity and achievement for underserved populations via lending his skills and talents to organizations such as being a guest speaker and panelist, joining the Assistance League of Phoenix Advisory Council and the Grand Canyon University President’s K12 Educational Advisory Council to assist in the collective movement of improving schools for all students