“Our teachers are still raving about Ben Glenn two years later. We can’t wait to have him back.”
Beth Morris · Early Care & Education Data Specialist
Speaking to schools since 1995 · Carmel, Indiana
Teachers changed the entire direction of Ben Glenn’s life. Thirty years later he stands in front of their rooms to say it out loud, and to prove it he creates a six-by-eight-foot painting live while he speaks. Your staff walks out remembering exactly why they signed up for this.
2027 theme: Don’t Miss the Masterpiece.
Kick off the school year with an experience created for everyone who makes your school work, not just the teachers. From teachers and administrators to aides, office staff, custodians, maintenance teams, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and support staff, every person has a role in the masterpiece.
For decades Ben Glenn has helped schools start the year with energy, laughter, encouragement and a shared sense of purpose. Don’t Miss the Masterpiece is designed to unify your staff, remind people that their work matters, and get your whole team ready for the year ahead.
Your event includes
One theme. One staff. One shared mission.
July and August dates go first.
This one is for the whole building, not just the teachers. Custodians, cafeteria staff, support staff, administrators, everybody in the same room. They leave understanding how much their part matters, and the year starts with the staff together instead of scattered.
45 to 90 minutesWhat the session covers →Practical sessions for general education and special education staff, from a speaker who lived it rather than studied it. Pairs with any keynote.
45 to 90 minutesFree toolkit →A presentation built to celebrate the people who keep showing up. Appreciation week, staff recognition, end of year. Everyone goes home with a print of the piece he drew in front of them.
45 to 90 minutesPlan an event →See Ben in action
Ben’s story
School was hard for Ben. Two teachers looked at the same kid everybody else had given up on and saw an artist. He went to college to become a teacher himself, and he has spent thirty years since making sure educators hear what those two never got told.
Your staff has been asked to absorb more every year with fewer people and less thanks. Another framework will not move them. One hour of somebody standing up and saying the true thing out loud will.
The specialty
Your general education teachers get language for the student who is not being defiant. Your special ed team gets a room full of colleagues who finally understand what they have been saying for years.
Two breakout sessions pair with any keynote: Understanding the Peaks and Pitfalls of ADHD, and Teaching ADHD Students Without Losing Your Mind.
The artwork
Every piece drawn live, in front of the room, in under half an hour. No two events get the same painting.
Straight from the room
The sizzle reel
Worthington schools
A drawing start to finish
Meet Ben in 30 seconds
“One of the best, most motivational professional developments our teachers have had.”
Midway Elementary School · Teacher Kick-off Convention“I’ve rarely seen a group so engaged from start to finish.”
Director of Visual & Performing Arts · Lake Highland“The energy was real, the message hit, and you need to keep doing this.”
Trevor Lawrence · Jacksonville JaguarsBooking
Tell Ben the date, the audience and roughly how many chairs. He comes back with what is possible and what it costs.
Check availability
