Yes. Curtis is an award-winning education keynote speaker for schools and districts and a college and university keynote speaker for higher education events nationwide.

After 20 years as a Chicago Public Schools educator, Curtis founded Culture of Belonging Global® and now delivers keynotes, professional development sessions, and consulting engagements to K-12 schools, districts, colleges, and education conferences across the country.

His work is built on the Culture of Belonging® framework — a classroom-proven system that helped move student proficiency from 42% to 81% in just six months.

If you're looking for a motivational speaker for schools, Curtis offers something different — more than motivation, he brings a framework built and tested in his own classroom.

While other speakers ask audiences to feel something for an hour, Curtis leaves them with the Culture of Belonging® framework, a repeatable system schools can put into practice the next morning.

He's a rare speaker who has lived the job he's speaking to — and it shows in the room.

Yes. The Culture of Belonging® framework was developed and refined through 20 years of real classroom experience — not built in a lab, but tested where it matters most: in front of real students, under real pressure.

In Curtis's own classroom, the framework produced a documented jump in student proficiency from 42% to 81% in one school year. Since then, Curtis has applied the same framework in keynotes and professional development sessions for K-12 schools, districts, colleges, and universities nationwide — translating what worked in his classroom into practical tools other educators can use in theirs.

Curtis is hired by K-12 schools, school districts, colleges, universities, and education conferences globally for keynotes and professional development.

He's also brought in by Fortune 500 companies — including State Farm, Pfizer, Southwest Airlines, BP, and Crayola — to apply the same Culture of Belonging® framework to corporate culture and leadership.

From classrooms to boardrooms, the organizations that hire Curtis share one goal: building a culture where people are seen, valued, and set up to perform at their best.

Educators are navigating burnout, retention challenges, and disengagement at levels most industries never see.

Curtis spent 20 years inside that exact pressure as a Chicago Public Schools educator, so he doesn't talk about the classroom — he speaks from it. His message lands because it comes from someone who has graded the papers, managed the behaviors, and felt the weight of a room full of students the system had already written off.

That's why schools, districts, and education conferences bring Curtis back year after year — he's not explaining their world to them. He's reflecting it.

When the Culture of Belonging® framework takes hold in a classroom, school, or organization — there is a measurable shift in how people show up, engage, and perform. It isn't a motivational claim. It's a documented outcome. Curtis helps schools build an environment where every educator and student feels:

• NOTICED: From an isolated headcount to a human being.
• NAMED: Breaking the anonymity of data scores.
• KNOWN: Replacing anxiety with psychological safety.
• NEEDED: The ultimate anchor for teacher retention.

Yes. Every keynote and teacher professional development session is shaped around your school, district, or organization's specific goals — not delivered as a one-size-fits-all talk.

Curtis offers half-day, full-day, and multi-day formats, so the experience fits your schedule and goals, whether that's a single keynote or an extended professional development series.

Before each engagement, Curtis works directly with your team to understand your staff's challenges, your students' needs, and what you want people to walk away with. The Culture of Belonging® framework stays the same, but the format, stories, examples, and focus areas are built for your audience.

Curtis delivers both in-person and virtual keynotes and professional development sessions. Whether your event is on-site, fully virtual, or hybrid, the experience is designed to be high-energy and fully interactive regardless of format. Reach out and we'll find the right fit for your event.

After Curtis leaves the stage, the real work begins. Your team receives four challenge videos — released one per week over four weeks — designed to reinforce the Culture of Belonging® framework and keep momentum going long after the event ends.

You'll also receive an implementation guide, giving your people a clear, practical path for putting the BELONG Method into daily practice. The goal isn't a one-day high. It's lasting change that shows up in how your people show up.

Curtis books out quickly, especially during back-to-school season and fall conference months.

If you have a date in mind — a professional development day, a conference keynote, or a multi-day series — reach out as soon as you start planning. Booking inquiries are answered the same day, so you'll know quickly whether your date works.

Investment depends on the format and scope of your event — whether that's a single keynote, a full professional development day, or a multi-day series.

Reach out using the form on this page, and you'll receive pricing and availability the same day.