Robin Whitacre

Trainer, Restorative Justice Project

Robin Whitacre has over 30 years of experience in the K-12 education field as a teacher, building principal, leadership coach, and professional learning facilitator and designer.  During this time, she has had the opportunity to work with thousands of educators across the United States and internationally and considers herself a student of school systems and the change processes that transform them.   Her 14 years as a teacher and principal has made her a driven advocate for educators and students alike. Her professional development experience led her to deeply explore the intersection of student academic growth and learner empowerment which comes from by understanding our students as whole human beings whose social and emotional capacities and well-being must be intentionally honored and nurtured. 

In her work as an independent school change coach, as well as in her roles with organizations like Research for Better Teaching in Acton, Massachusetts, the Institute for Educational Equity in Denver and NWEA in Portland, Oregon she has designed and facilitated hundreds of workshops in schools as well as national conferences like Learning Forward and ASCD.  In addition, she has served as a leadership coach supporting implementation and school improvement efforts for over 20 schools, including a 4-year partnership with the Bureau of Indian Education coaching 15 schools on the Navajo reservation and 3 tribally controlled pueblo schools in northern New Mexico.   Her individual and team leadership coaching supports leaders in implementing school change initiatives, strategic planning and continuous improvement of the systems and structures in their unique contexts and traditions.

Her Restorative Practice work focuses on the intersection of empowerment techniques along with effective use of various forms of data to support a culture of learning for all and shift mindsets from educators as “managers of students” to “empowerers of learners”.  This shift is critical for systems looking to implement responsive teaching and learning practices that maximize student achievement while supporting students social, emotional, and behavior needs from a strengths-based perspective, which she sees as the foundation for Restorative Practice.  

Robin holds a B.S. in Elementary Education, M.A. in Elementary Administration and completed her certification as leadership coach from The Change Place in Boulder, Colorado.  She currently lives and works part time in Palm Springs, California and Idaho Springs, Colorado.