Bringing Hope. Igniting Passion. Electrifying Teachers.
Energy, motivation, and beatboxing they will never forget.
Support for every stage of teaching
Scalable professional learning—from keynotes to coaching—designed to strengthen teachers, support leaders, and improve retention.
Don's work in inner city Miami, in one of America's hardest schools, prepared him to ignite passion in others. He wants to light a fire in your teachers, too.
Our Make-It-Work Workshops will get your hands makin', feet movin', and brain thinkin'—hands-on professional development that actually sticks!
Transform nervous new hires into confident educators with proven classroom management and student engagement training delivered on-site.
Our approach is radical. Our results are remarkable. We guarantee it—with personalized coaching that transforms classrooms.
"Every single staff member was completely on the tip of their seat."
Derrick Manning
Assistant Superintendent of Clayton County Schools GA
Meet Don Barefield
“I’ll move to Miami and teach high school math if you give me the toughest school you have” Don told the Director of Human Resources for Miami-Dade County schools. Later that day, he was hired to teach mathematics in Liberty City in one of America’s toughest schools.
Now, Don, an award winning, highly sought after motivational speaker and trainer, travels the country inspiring educators with his high energy, keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat style and insights into the power of love. Stories of teaching in Liberty City in Miami, inner city Atlanta, his time as president of an Atlanta company that grew over 100% a year for 5 consecutive years and insight into the fundamental principles of relationships create an experience you will never forget! Oh . . . and he beatboxes!
". . . a dynamic presentation! It was absolutely phenomenal. Every single staff member was completely on the tip of their seat! He was dynamic! It's going to change my motivation . . . my whole perspective with respect to dealing with any kid. I will never forget this presentation."
Derrick Manning
Assistant Superintendent of Clayton County Schools, GA
"He motivated us! He inspired us to get ready for this new school year! Just an outstanding day. I would encourage any school system to call Don, set it up, because it has really lit a fire under our school system!"
Ben Baker
Superintendent of Dale County Schools, AL
"Mr. Barefield just spoke to our faculty and staff at our back to school breakfast and he did an amazing job! We took a lot of time before the breakfast to talk about expectations and he delivered! He did a fantastic job! The faculty and staff loved him!"
Dr. Larry Derico
Superintendent of Thomaston-Upson County Schools, GA
Not General Professional Development
Specialized Training in Classroom Management and Student Engagement — because when those are strong, everything else improves.
Unleash potential
Every teacher can create a thriving classroom. We will show them how.
"I've had the pleasure, over the past couple of days, of having Mr. B come in and work with me and it's been absolutely amazing! Using these tools, we are able to shift, not only what we are able to accomplish in this amount of time, but what these kids think they are capable of accomplishing."
"We have changed things around and turned around some disruptive discipline issues within a matter of minutes. . . it's IMMEDIATE results and there's more productivity and progress being made. I'm excited about him coming back because I know my classroom is going to be more conducive to learning everytime he comes back."
"This is my first year teaching at a public elementary school, so classroom management was definitely not something I was coming into prepared with, as much as I needed to be. These past three days Mr. Barefield's been in my classroom has been REVOLUTIONARY to say the least."
"This week Mr. B's been with me and I can't tell you how much it's meant to learn from somebody with so much experience . . . to be able to have somebody next to me, guiding me, and, when I'm scared, kind of push me in that water, to make me be a better teacher. I'm looking forward to teaching just because of this guy."
Coaching
Confident teaching starts here.
We’ve partnered with districts to coach hundreds of teachers into stronger, more effective classroom leaders. Our targeted support improves classroom management, boosts student engagement, and reduces teacher burnout—leading to better outcomes across schools. When teachers are confident and supported, students thrive and district goals are met.