Smekens Education — Local services in Warren

I first experienced professional learning with Smekens Education in 2010 and I have been thoroughly impressed since. Each time teachers and leaders attend a Smekens session, they come away with immediately useful strategies that help them help students grow in literacy. These people are top shelf! Knowledgeable, genuine, and highly skilled at all levels from PK through high school. Their support staff is amazing. Always helpful and work hard to meet educator needs. They stay current with state standards and requirements. As a result of their dedication to remaining relevant and current, I never worried about teachers and leaders asking to attend their workshops. Now that what instruction looks vastly different for us all, they have once again spent time working on strategies that can be used in the virtual classroom s well as brick and mortar. I trust these people with helping me change...

I participated in the ¨Ignite to Write¨ virtual conference, and highly recommend it to any teacher who teaches writing. In fact, teachers who teach any subject area that incorporates writing into their lessons would benefit from this webinar. The presenters were engaging, organized, and thorough. And, every session has handouts, anchor charts, and resources available to attendees so that they can implement the lessons and ideas and effectively teach writing. There are a wide variety of sessions from which to choose, and after the live event, the attendee has access to rewatch the sessions that were attended as well as watch any of the offered sessions for a full year. Attendees also have full access to the resources that go with each session. It truly ignites, or reignites, excitement for...

Kristina Smekens is at the top of her game, and her game is teaching teachers how to teach literacy through basketball analogies. The way she has built up her knowledge of multiple states' standards as well as pedagogically what kids in grades kinder through 12th is awe-inspiring. Not only does she have the raw knowledge of her discipline, but she also shares this information in a digestible, relatable, memorable way. Her use of humor and distinctive voices make her engaging to listen to and watch. Even people who aren't educators recognize when I have a Smekens video playing! She's made such a difference in my teaching and in my students' reading comprehension. If you have a chance to go to a workshop, watch a workshop, or interact with a Smekenized coach, do it! You'll never regret a...