As a kid plagued with the neurological tics that characterize Tourette’s syndrome, Tim Piccirillo knows all too well what it was like to be the “problem child” in his classrooms and the outcast among his peers. Had it not been for one teacher taking him under his wing, he might have spent the rest of his life crippled with self-doubt, or worse.

Now an engaging public speaker, Piccirillo, who gave the keynote address at The Consortium for Public Education’s annual Leadership Retreat, credits that one teacher with “saving my life.” The instructor taught him the magic tricks that now punctuate his presentations and “looked beyond the tics, the disability, the fact that I was different,” Piccirillo said.

He challenged the 130 attendees at the two-day retreat to pay attention to the unique abilities and potential of each student. “Don’t give up on any of them,” he said. “You can be the catalyst for each one to maximize his potential.”

The theme of unlocking all students’ potential by recognizing their different abilities, backgrounds and interests threaded through all of the activities, discussions and planning at the retreat. The event, which began June 21st at Seven Springs, drew teams of administrators, teachers, support staff and even some board and community representatives from 14 different school districts.

The teams, which came together from The Consortium’s Middle-High Forum and Leadership Design program, spent structured time reflecting on the successes and challenges of the past year and began planning their work for the coming fall. In addition to centering all work on students and developing next year’s action plans, goals included advancing systems, teams and leadership capacity and developing new skills and knowledge.

To facilitate cross-district exchanges, work products were periodically posted on a “gallery wall” for others to examine with the help of a “docent” from the team that produced them.