About Smekens Education
Smekens Education helps schools and districts improve instruction and achievement in reading and writing by providing K-12 educators with practical and engaging professional development that can be implemented immediately.
Empowering Educators: Smekens Literacy Consultants
Smekens Education brings together a dynamic team of literacy consultants who ignite professional learning for K-12 educators nationwide. Through engaging on-site and virtual consultations, they equip teachers with practical, research-based literacy strategies that can be implemented immediately.
A Cohesive Approach with Customized Support
While each consultant injects her own unique personality, everyone works from the same playbook of research-based techniques. This ensures that districts partnering with Smekens Education benefit from a consistent and cohesive set of strategies and systems. However, Smekens consultants go beyond a one-size-fits-all approach. They take the time to understand the unique needs of each school, tailoring their professional development to address specific challenges and curriculum goals. This customization ensures that teachers receive the most relevant and impactful training possible.
How we support schools
Customized Training
Implementation Coaching
Mini-lesson Modeling
Conferences & Workshops
Video Subscription
On-Demand Workshops
Bookstore
Areas of specialization
The literacy consultants at Smekens Education have decades of combined experience helping K-12 educators improve instruction and achievement in reading and writing. To that end, specific areas of specialization include:
Leading an effective writer’s workshop that fosters developmentally-appropriate progress aligned to state standards.
Teaching and assessing writing modes and genres all year long.
Planning and delivering engaging, standards-driven mini-lessons in reading and writing.
Teaching standards-based reading comprehension skills all year long.
Writing about reading, including preparation for state assessments.
Why schools partner with Smekens
School leaders entrust Smekens with their professional learning time and resources because they know that teachers will gain the knowledge, confidence, and motivation they need to build upon the instructional strengths that already exist.
Smekens consultants work from a common playbook of best-practice reading and writing strategies. That means that regardless of which Smekens consultant a school works with, they can rest assured that she will pull from a trusted bank for classroom-tested strategies curated by Kristina Smekens and her team.
Supporting schools of all sizes
Schools of all shapes and sizes rely on Smekens Education to provide professional development training, coaching, and customized consultations. Having supported small private schools and large metropolitan districts throughout the United States, the team at Smekens has the experience and capacity to execute small and large-scale professional development initiatives, regardless of size or location.
Our leadership
Smekens Education was founded by Brady and Kristina Smekens in 2005. This married duo leads the company with passion and teamwork, both on and off the clock.
Kristina serves as the president, lead consultant and chief content creator. A former English-language arts teacher, she leads a dynamic team of literacy consultants and coaches who provide in-person and virtual support for educators around the globe.
In his role as director of professional development, Brady applies his prior experience as a teacher and school administrator to develop effective PD partnerships with principals, directors, coordinators, and superintendents.
Our location
Smekens Education is headquartered in Warren, Indiana and also has team members scattered around the Midwest.
Let’s Connect
Complete the form below or call (888) 376-0448.
We are eager to help you achieve your PD goals!