Dr. LaTonya Barnes (@DrLaTonyaBarnes) - You Gotta Be About It

Dr. LaTonya Barnes leads as an independent national educational consultant, focusing on influencing positive educational change and improving student achievement. 

LaTonya is an educator, speaker, and professional educational consultant who specializes in working with other educators to find innovative ways to transform teaching and learning. Her areas of expertise include designing innovative learning experiences, professional learning, and community building within educational settings. 

She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications (2004), Master of Arts in Education (2010), and Doctor of Philosophy in Education (2017) degrees from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Dr. LaTonya Barnes is also a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT), holding an Early Childhood Generalist certificate (2014) with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). 

During her professional career, Dr. Barnes has served as an early childhood, elementary, and middle school teacher, curriculum coach, as well as a testing and assessment coordinator with Birmingham City Schools in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Barnes has also served as the Alabama Site Director of the Network to Transform Teaching (NT3) with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). Under her NT3 leadership, Alabama experienced a 300% increase in the number of educators pursuing National Board certification, resulting in the ranking of Alabama as 10th in the nation for the number of NBCTs and National Board candidates during 2017-2018. 

Dr. Barnes has facilitated countless, engaging professional learning opportunities, throughout the nation, focused on the improvement of teaching and learning. She has created College and Career Readiness (CCRS) lesson plans for Alabama’s early childhood educators for Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX) and has served as a grant proposal evaluator for the Alabama First-Class Pre-K Grant. 

LaTonya is an active member of several professional organizations, including serving as a founding member of the Alabama Alliance of Black School Educators (AL-ABSE) and the National Board Network of Accomplished Minoritized Educators (NB-NAME). Dr. Barnes is proud to serve on the Board of Directors for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). She believes that all students, no matter the zip code, deserve an accomplished teacher. 

Dr. Barnes has received many awards, including receiving the 2016 Outstanding Service Award from Alabama State University – Central Alabama Regional Education Inservice Center and earning the distinguishment of 2015 Educator of the Year from Junior Achievement of Alabama. She was also appointed as the 2015 Young Professional Advisory Member from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). 

LaTonya is a proud product of Selma City Schools, located in the historic Selma, Alabama. She enjoys teaching Sunday School at a local nursing home, mentoring students and educators, researching, reading, as well as vacationing with family.

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