Blog

On August 15, 2018 the Texas Education Agency (TEA) will release district grades using the new A-F Accountability Rating System. Individual schools will not be ranked using this system until August 2019. For 2018, schools will continue to be rated as either “Met Standard” or “Improvement Required,” and can earn "Distinctions." This blog post will… Continue reading New for Texas Public Schools

July marks the one-year anniversary of Valorie Kruger Consulting LLC! The business might only be a year old, but it has been over twenty years in the making. In this blog post, I am going to reflect upon the journey which led to the formation of the business as well as lessons learned. My career… Continue reading Continuously Learning

As the school year ends, students look forward to all the adventures of summer break. Though, parents and educators are concerned with the two and half months of no formal academics, which often lends itself to the “summer slide” in learning. Children need the time for exploring the world around them and developing their creativity.… Continue reading Summertime Blues

As Teacher Appreciation week comes to a close, I thought I would share this poem which encapsulates what it means to be a teacher. Heart of A Teacher By Paula J. Fox The child arrives like a mystery box… with puzzle pieces inside some of the pieces are broken or missing… and others just seem… Continue reading Thank a Teacher

Recently, I have been working with a district on implementing instructional practices for Core (Tier 1) reading instruction. The district is adding the final layer to create coherence between assessment, instruction, and intervention. This will lead to transfer of learning with students as the same language is being spoken in each setting. Transfer of learning… Continue reading Transfer of Learning

Over the past couple of weeks as I have been working with teachers during training sessions, the mode in which instruction is delivered has been on my mind. A teacher’s instructional delivery is the art of teaching, where the magic occurs. It is when the teacher takes knowledge of content and meshes it with knowledge… Continue reading Cultivating Thinking

Within the next few weeks, standardized test season will be in full swing at schools across the nation. As students in grades 3 and above prepare to take content area tests, you might be wondering why all the stress? Most states assessments are criterion-referenced tests, meaning they are designed to measure student performance based upon… Continue reading Testing Season

Spring is just around the corner, and with all the seasonal changes occurring around us it’s a wonderful time to foster science in your child. The warming of the weather and blooming of vegetation is a natural motivation for inquiry. Additionally, as spring break vacations are beginning you will be looking for ways to encourage… Continue reading Spring into Science

Students today face many issues in their life and the world around them. Watching the news, we are confronted daily with stories of bullying, the Opioid crisis, and violence in communities. To better help adolescents we need to understand their situations as well as the resources available to support them in their times of need.… Continue reading Students in Crisis

This past week, while listening to the keynote speaker at a literacy institute where I presented, I was reminded of the importance of daily reading time. For a child, daily reading time begins in the womb and lasts until he/she moves out of the house. At various stages of a child’s life, the reading takes… Continue reading Reading with Your Child