In Irvine Unified, we have been focused for many years on the critical and foundational importance of student mental, social, and emotional wellness and resilience. Roni’s and EQ Schools’ support has been integral in building and sustaining our capacity at both site and districtwide levels. He is an engaging and compelling presenter with a deep and impressive understanding of not only the importance of this work but key strategies that can be implemented in our classrooms and with our staff. We have every intention of continuing to work with EQ Schools in the years ahead and are deeply grateful for the impact Roni and his team already had on our district culture and community.

Our district has had the opportunity to work with Roni Habib and EQ Schools over the past few years and the incredible value of this experience cannot be truly quantified. Roni helped guide our administrators and entire staff through one of the most challenging times in our district. The activities and encouragement he provided resulted in an increase in joy, gratitude, and appreciation despite the challenges we faced. We were able to retain our positive culture and even become stronger as a result.

Our team is grateful to Roni for the work he has done in our District and the strategies he gave to our team to help them manage their stress, have fun together, and keep things in perspective. Whether it was a keynote address to kick of the school year, monthly support provided to our management team, or the gratitude challenges we used to support us through challenging times of the year – Roni and the EQ Schools’ team made a difference in our district for our staff which absolutely trickled down to our students and entire community.

Olympus Jr. High has worked with EQ Schools and Roni Habib since 2016 when we hosted an EQ Schools conference at our school.  Over 400 educators from all over the region joined us to learn about emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and positive psychology in our schools.  Since then, the skills we learned from Roni and EQ Schools have guided us in every interaction we have with our school community.  We have led the way in our area in providing a Positive Psychology enrichment that the vast majority of our students have in their schedule.  We have earned a reputation for having a kind, caring, respectful, and safe school culture.  Roni and EQ Schools continue to support our district with workshops and professional development.  In particular, Roni helped our Administration team engage in Post Traumatic Growth after the last few years of COVID disruptions.  We have been able to carry that through to our staff, students, and school community!

EQ Schools and people like Roni Habib are what we need in education today. The pandemic, inflation, recession, climate change, elections, social media… EQ Schools and their mission are the fulcrum nestled between classroom/school environment and rigor. Engaging and research based, Roni and his team know their audience. I had heard about Roni from a teacher that went to CUE. I then went to see one of his sessions and knew within moments he could captivate and inspire our staff. And he did. He has since been to other schools in our district and was the keynote for our leadership retreat this year. The proof is in the pudding though- it’s been a couple years since he’s has been on our campus for professional development. Not only are teachers still employing his suggestions and techniques, those teachers have taught teachers hired since Roni was here to utilize his classroom approaches. In short, he knows what sticks and it has stuck.  Please contact me with any questions about what Roni is able to do with and for educators.

Our positive school culture, our staff’s ability to put the social and emotional needs of our students first, is in great part due to the work we did with Roni Habib and EQ Schools.  As a servant leader, my work in helping teachers and students find their “center”, coaching them to understand what is truly important, and my own mental health came about because of my work with EQ Schools.  Our staff puts student mental health above all else.  They understand that learning can only take place when a child feels emotionally and physically safe.  As a former teacher, Roni gets what it’s like to be in the classroom.  His ability to encourage people to be their authentic selves and create deep connections with students is exactly what education needs right now.