Previous to his joining Scholastic, Ron worked as a mental health clinician, a school administrator, a staff developer, and an executive consultant. Ron holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work and has 30 years of experience working with K-12 schools, health and social service agencies. Since 1993 he has focused his efforts on helping schools address “barriers to learning,” primarily in the areas of engaging families in efforts to improve student achievement, connecting families to mental health and other supportive services, and helping increase student “connectedness” to schools. Ron was the founder of the Iowa Parent Information Resource Center in 1995 and has been a consultant to programs in many different states and internationally on how to engage families in the learning process. He is a co-author of the Family Engagement Assessment—a tool that measures a school’s capacity for developing effective partnerships with families. Ron has taught graduate courses and provides professional development for educators and community agency staff on family engagement and school climate. Since 1989, Ron written and received funding for 199 grant proposals totaling over $130 million in state, federal and private funding, including projects which support the implementation of school-based health and mental health services.