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Kurt Schwengel

Kurt Schwengel

Brings the Joy and Secrets of Kindergarten to the Education World, Technology and Engagement Specialist

Kurt Schwengel has been teaching Kindergarten in Santa Monica, Ca since 1995. He is also a national presenter for a variety of topics ranging from technology to creative teaching. He is an "NBC Crystal Apple" winner, eHow education expert, Google Certified Teacher and SMUSD "Teacher of the Year". His Ted Talk "Occupy Kindergarten" has reached thousands of teachers across the country. Kurt attended and played baseball for UCLA from 1988-93 earning a B.A. in Anthropology and went on to earn a ...

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Bio

Full Bio

Kurt Schwengel has been teaching Kindergarten in Santa Monica, Ca since 1995. He is also a national presenter for a variety of topics ranging from technology to creative teaching. He is an “NBC Crystal Apple” winner, eHow education expert, Google Certified Teacher and SMUSD “Teacher of the Year”. His Ted Talk “Occupy Kindergarten” has reached thousands of teachers across the country.

Kurt attended and played baseball for UCLA from 1988-93 earning a B.A. in Anthropology and went on to earn a Masters in Education and an M.B.A. from Pepperdine in 1995. And after Kindergarten gets out everyday, Kurt is the head varsity baseball coach at Santa Monica High School.

In 1995, Kurt created his original Kindergarten curriculum, “Rock and Roll Kindergarten” and has traveled to almost every state in the country introducing his curriculum to over 20,000 teachers. In 2011 he began his grassroots movement “Occupy Kindergarten” in an effort to “bring the fun back to Kindergarten”.

Kurt can also relate to any K-12 audience as he explores the similarities between how we reach Kindergarteners and how we can reach High School Students. Its all about Student Engagement and Kurt know how to engage regardless of the age of the student or teacher.

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Topics

Topics

Keynote: The History of Kindergarten
Keynote: Occupy Kindergarten
Keynote: The Classroom and Student of the Future

Videos

Videos

Lies. Damn Lies, and Statistics: Kurt Schwengel at TEDxYouth@SantaMonica
Evolution of YOU: Kurt Schwengel at TEDxYouth@SantaMonica

Books

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News

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CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

The American Psychological Association was thrilled to have Dr. Antonia Novello as our speaker for the 2024 APA Convention. Dr. Novello was fantastic, and her presentation was a tremendous success. Thank you, Peter, for all your hard work in making this event such a resounding success.

American Psychological Association

For our annual Native American Heritage Month celebration, PDA Group arranged for John Echohawk to join us for a virtual moderated discussion. The program was thoughtful, engaging, and highly impactful for our audience of lawyers and professional staff. We are grateful for their partnership and look forward to working with them again.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

We have partnered with PDA Group on multiple successful events, including our charity luncheon with Lisa Edelstein and our Women’s Philanthropy Kickoff Event featuring Allegra Goodman. Their professionalism, expertise, and commitment to excellence make them an outstanding partner. Thank you for your exceptional work and continued support.

UJA-Federation

We have received so much fantastic feedback following our virtual event. It was an absolute success, and Sylvia Fowles was excellent. Thank you again to Sylvia and the entire team for your partnership!”

U.S. Bank

Kurt Warner was spectacular—he completely wowed the audience and solidified major leadership points. He was an amazing partner, and we will be talking about this experience for years to come. We will definitely leverage the PDA team for all of our speaking needs!”

Sysco Corporation

The events over the past two years went very well — everyone had a great time with Dr. Mark Esper in 2025, and Sam Hinkie led a very engaging Q&A with our Principal, Jean Reynolds, in 2024. Thank you for working with us these last two years; your support has been instrumental to the success of our programs!

Investcorp Strategic Capital Group

It was an absolute privilege to have Dr. Sanjay Gupta as our keynote speaker for the 2026 GME Leadership Conference. He delivered an outstanding address that resonated deeply and left a lasting impression on everyone in the room. The entire planning process was seamless and collaborative. It was a pleasure working together, brainstorming suggestions, and ultimately selecting the perfect fit for our event. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

HCA Healthcare

We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!

Salt Lake Community College

It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).

Western Michigan University

On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can’t wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.

Ferris State University

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