Marcia Tate

Marcia L. Tate is the former executive director of professional development for the DeKalb County Schools in Decatur, Georgia. During her 30-year career with the district, she has been a classroom teacher, reading specialist, language arts coordinator, and staff development executive director. Tate was named Staff Developer of the Year for the state of Georgia, and her department was selected to receive the Exemplary Program award for the state.

Tate is currently an educational consultant and has presented her workshops to over 500,000 administrators, teachers, parents, and community leaders from all over the United States and the world, including Australia, Canada, Egypt, Hungary, Oman, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand. She is the author of the best-selling series "Engaging the Brain: 20 Unforgettable Strategies for Growing Dendrites and Accelerating Learning" (4th Ed.) (formerly "Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites"), as well as ""Sit & Get" Won't Grow Dendrites: 20 Professional Learning Strategies That Engage the Adult Brain" (2nd ed), "Preparing Children for Success in School and Life," and "Formative Assessment in a Brain-compatible Classroom: How Do We Really Know They are Learning?." Her more recent books, "100 Brain-Friendly Lessons for Unforgettable Teaching and Learning" (K-8) and (9-12), provide teachers with exemplary lessons replete with brain-compatible strategies. Tate's latest book, "Healthy Teachers, Happy Classrooms," enables educators to renew the passion inherent in the profession. Participants in her workshops call them some of the best ones they have ever attended since Tate models the 20 strategies in her books to engage her audiences actively.

She received her bachelor's degree in psychology and elementary education from Spelman College in Atlanta, her master's in remedial reading from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and her specialist and doctorate degrees in educational leadership from Georgia State University and Clark Atlanta University, respectively. Spelman College awarded her the Apple Award for excellence in the field of education.

Marcia is married to Tyrone Tate and is the proud mother of three children: Jennifer, Jessica, and Christopher. If she had known how wonderful it would be to be a grandmother, Tate would have had her nine grandchildren, Christian, Aidan, Maxwell, Aaron, Roman, Shiloh, Aya, Noah, and Alyssa, before she had her children. She and her husband own the company Developing Minds, Inc.