YOU MATTER ...YOUR PURPOSE AWAITS YOU!
For High School Student Assemblies
Helping Students Find Purpose Before Graduation
Target Audience: High School Students, Grades 9-12
Why are you here? What are you meant to do? What will you contribute to the world?
Drawing on his book Yes, You Matter … Your Purpose Awaits You! and three decades in California public education, Rolland B uses humor and hard-earned life lessons to challenge students to begin discovering their purpose … now—not someday.
Through six unforgettable real-life stories about integrity, courage, failure, resilience, self-worth, and missed opportunities, Rolland delivers –in a partly interactive presentation-- an uplifting message about taking responsibility for your future, refusing to let fear or setbacks define you, and making the most of the unique gifts you already possess.
You matter. Your choices matter. Your voice matters.
And your purpose awaits you!
TIME FOR A RENAISSANCE IN CIVICS!
Why Core Democratic Values and Constitutional Principles Must Be Taught, Understood, and Valued
Target Audience: School Board Trustees, Superintendents & Other District Administrators
In an era of deep polarization, Rolland B argues that it is time for a Renaissance in Civics. Democracy does not defend itself. It must be taught, understood, and valued.
Drawing on three decades in California public education—as an interim superintendent, assistant superintendent, elected school board trustee, and CPA-auditor—Rolland makes the case that decades of neglecting civics have contributed to a quiet erosion of American civic life.
Based on his book The Case for Values Education, this keynote calls for making civics a key pillar of public K–12 education—grounded in the core democratic values and constitutional principles that sustain our democracy.
Civics education is neither partisan nor nostalgic. It is democratic infrastructure, teaching students how to think—not what to think—while grounding them in the rule of law, facts and evidence, pluralism, peaceful disagreement, equal dignity, and active civic participation.
As an immigrant who found refuge in America from a burgeoning dictatorship, Rolland challenges school leaders to recognize that preparing students for citizenship is inseparable from preparing them for life.
Audience Takeaway: School leaders will gain practical perspectives for embedding democratic values in district culture without politicizing the classroom—and see themselves not merely as system managers, but as worthy stewards of a constitutional republic.
AN EVERLASTING DEMOCRACY! LINCOLN'S FERVENT HOPE
Target Audience: School Board Trustees, Superintendents & Other Administrators
In the darkest hours of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln looked toward a future where a "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Today, school leaders stand at another critical crossroads, entrusted with helping sustain that enduring democratic promise.
This keynote explores the leadership lessons of our 16th President, presenting Lincoln not simply as a historical figure, but as a strategic mentor for today's school board members and superintendents.
Rolland translates Lincoln's enduring vision into modern district leadership, challenging school leaders to reconnect with the monumental importance of their service and his commitment to an "unfettered start" for every child—the very soul of public education.
The keynote calls on leaders to become worthy stewards of our democratic heritage, communicating in ways that bring people together rather than deepen division.
Audience Takeaway: School boards and superintendents will gain a Lincoln-inspired perspective on leadership and communication—one that seeks common ground, appeals to the "better angels of our nature," and keeps the larger mission of public education in view.
IS PRESERVING DEMOCRACY YOUR BIG PICTURE?
Target Audience: School Board Trustees & Superintendents
Every school district has a mission. But does that mission reflect the bigger picture—preparing young people not only for careers, but for responsible citizenship in a constitutional democracy?
Rolland invites school leaders to take a fresh look at their district mission statements and ask a powerful question:
Are we preparing students not only to make a living, but to help sustain the society in which they live?
This keynote challenges school boards and K–12 leaders to embrace the larger calling of public education—to help prepare informed, responsible citizens and become worthy stewards of our democratic heritage.
Audience Takeaway: A broader vision of the mission of public education, a renewed sense of leadership, purpose, and practical ideas for keeping citizenship and democracy within the bigger picture of district decision-making.
ENDING INTERSTATE FUNDING INEQUALITY: A CALL TO REVOLT AGAINST THE K-12 STATUS QUO
Flagship Keynote
Target Audience: School Board Trustees, Superintendents & Other K–12 Influencers
A provocative call for school leaders to move beyond managing inequality to dismantling it.
Drawing on 20 years as a CPA-auditor of school systems, eight years as an elected school board trustee, and 11 years as an assistant superintendent/chief business official, and six months as interim superintendent (contemporaneous with the assistant superintendent position), Rolland B exposes the "Grand Canyon-sized" funding gaps between states. In FY 2020, the ten lowest-funded states spent less than half as much per pupil as the ten highest-funded states. A child's educational opportunity should not depend on which state that child happens to live in. Yet today, it does.
Calling this a "funding lottery," Rolland is spearheading, soon, the ENDING INTERSTATE FUNDING INEQUALITY campaign, a signature-gathering petition calling on the U.S. Congress to pass the first-ever Federal Equality in Education Act (FEEA), which would raise the funding floor and equalize funding among the states while keeping curriculum, administration, and governance in local hands.
Drawing on his book Revolt Against the K–12 Status Quo, this keynote blends hard numbers, constitutional principles, and an immigrant's appreciation for American democracy into a powerful call for action.
Audience Takeaway: A clearer understanding of interstate funding inequality and a compelling vision for the American people proactively helping to "bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice" by making equality of educational opportunity a national priority.
"Equality in education isn't just policy. It is the promise of American democracy." – Rolland B
Rolland B's Keynotes Translated
In the Prism of Democracy
Keynote 1: You matter. Find your purpose.
Keynote 2: Teach the values that sustain democracy.
Keynote 3: Lead with Lincoln's everlasting vision.
Keynote 4: Keep democracy as the BIG picture.
Keynote 5: Make educational opportunity more equal.