ASCD Faculty Bio

Bobb Darnell

Bobb Darnell is president of Achievement Strategies Inc., an ASCD faculty member, and an advocate for high student achievement and daily professional growth. He served as director of staff support for more than 1,700 staff members in a northwest Illinois school district and taught for more than 20 years. Darnell has served on the board of trustees for the National and Illinois Staff Development Councils and the Illinois International Branch of the Dyslexia Association, and he has been a member of numerous national and state task forces and committees.

A member of ASCD's Leadership cadre, Darnell is a coauthor of ASCD’s 2002 action tool Guide for Instructional Leaders, Guide 1 and has also written four staff development guides for Wavelength's award-winning educational comedy videos. Furthermore, Darnell's work on the 21st century instructional leader is featured in ASCD's 2010 PD QuickKits.

An internationally known speaker, Darnell has delivered keynote presentations and conducted workshops for educators at all grade levels throughout the United States. He has also presented at ASCD conferences and institutes as well as the conferences of many other nationally recognized organizations. Bobb's high-energy workshops are filled with "edutainment" and practical ideas to support educators with their implementation of the Common Core State Standards, formative assessment, data-driven instruction, literacy improvement and intervention strategies. Darnell's presentations help administrators and teachers fine tune their knowledge and skills for leading school improvement initiatives. Professional development participants can easily sense his enthusiasm for continuous improvement, job satisfaction, and lifelong learning. Darnell is truly committed to helping teachers build high performance classrooms and developing responsible and self-directed students.