Megan Kruse

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It’s Possible

Explicit Instruction

March 29, 2026 by megankruse Leave a Comment

Before beginning this post, I scanned old posts to see what I have already written about explicit instruction.  I was surprised to see just a few, with these two rising to the top:  A Formula for Reading Success and A Trifecta in the Sciences.  It was a quick scan, so perhaps there are a few … [Read more…]

Posted in: Assessments and data, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Personal Learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Research, Student learning and the profession, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: Angela Hanlin & Associates, Angie Hanlin, Charles Hughes, checking for understanding, Dr. Anita Archer, Dr. Zach Groshell, explicit instruction, flexibility, Grit & Grace, Harnessing the Science of Learning, It's Possible, John Hattie, Just Tell Them, lesson planning, Nathaniel Swain, The Reading League Iowa, Visible Learning, Zaner Bloser

A Week in the Life

March 15, 2026 by megankruse

In last week’s post, The Times They Are A-Changin’, I referenced a blogpost written by Margaret Goldberg, literacy coach and cofounder of The Right to Read Project.  In her post, Goldberg expressed her frustration in a lack of clarity in a literacy coach’s role. As I digest her writing for the third or fourth time, … [Read more…]

Posted in: Assessments and data, Collaborative culture, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Personal Learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Research, Student learning and the profession, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: administration, Angie Hanlin, coaching models, IEP's, instructional coaching, It's Possible, Joyce and Showers, Margaret Goldberg, Pati Montgomery, Right to Read Project, SDI, special education, system, teacher leader model standards, The Writing Revolution, UFLI, Word Connections

Student-Focused Coaching

February 8, 2026 by megankruse

This quote is a fairly common one in education circles.  I’ve heard it before, but it hit me like a ton of bricks this week. I’ve been working with Zach, an amazing high school special education teacher, around a goal of improving reading outcomes for his students with reading goals.  I have run diagnostic assessments … [Read more…]

Posted in: Assessments and data, Collaborative culture, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Personal Learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Research, Student learning and the profession, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: Angie Hanlin, Daryl Michel, data, data-based decision making, diagnostics, Dr. Jan Hasbrouck, Dr. Jessica Toste, effective interventions, high school, intervention, It's Possible, Matt Burns, multisyllabic words, Pati Montgomery, progress monitoring, screener data, state assessments, struggling readers, student learning, Student-Focused Coaching, systematic and explicit instruction, The Reading League Iowa, Word Connections, Zach Russell

School Leaders: I’m Talking to You

January 18, 2026 by megankruse

Full disclosure:  Today I am writing from a position of arguably limited authority.  I have been a classroom teacher (23 years) and an instructional coach (7 years) and have held varied leadership positions in the past.  I am talking to and about school district leadership, though I have never held one of the positions that … [Read more…]

Posted in: Assessments and data, Collaborative culture, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Outreach and collaboration with families and community, Personal Learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Research, Student learning and the profession, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: 4 Disciplines of Execution, accountability, Angie Hanlin, assessment, Chris McChesney, collaboration, comprehensive assessment plan, culture, data-based decision making, DDIA, designing lessons, Dr. Zach Groshell, effective leadership, goal, goals, Good to Great, Harnessing the Science of Learning, high quality curriculums, High Road Leadership, instructional coaching, intentional planning, intervention, Iowa School Performance Profile, It's Possible, Jim Collins, Jim Huling, John Maxwell, Just Tell Them, leadership, leadership teams, lesson planning, Lexia LETRS for Administrators, Lisa Williams, Mike Schmoker, MTSS for Reading Improvement, mutual accountability, Nathaniel Swain, Pamela Snow, Pati Montgomery, professional development, reading proficiency, Sarah Brown, Sean Covey, Stephanie Stollar, systems, systems and structures, The Reading League Iowa, Travis Wilkins, universal instruction

Reading Comprehension Revisited

January 11, 2026 by megankruse

Foundational Reading Skills As the science of reading movement continues to evolve, some much-needed attention is being drawn to adolescent literacy and the Language Comprehension side of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. In our work with special education teachers and students in our 7th – 12th grade building this year, we have uncovered significant foundational skill gaps … [Read more…]

Posted in: Assessments and data, Collaborative culture, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Research, Student learning and the profession, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: adolescent literacy, Angie Hanlin, Barak Rosenshine, Canva, Charles Hughes, comprehension, curriculum matters, Dr. Anita Archer, explicit instruction, FMCSD, foundational reading skills, IEP's, IES Practice Guides, It's Possible, Kentucky Department of Education, Knowledge Matters Campaign, language comprehension, NAEP, Pati Montgomery, Reading Comprehension Round Table, reading proficiency, Reading Rockets, Sarah Brown, Scarborough's rope, science of reading, special education, Stephanie Stollar, systematic and explicit instruction, The Reading League, The Reading League Compass, The Reading League Iowa, thinkSRSD, UFLI

Under Promise, Over-deliver

December 7, 2025 by megankruse

George Couros has done it again – he has provided the just-in-time, just-right motivation I need.  In his most recent blogpost, “The Power of Consistency:  Do What You Say and Deliver More Than Expected,” he reminds readers of staying true to your word.   He reminds us to keep the promises we make to ourselves and … [Read more…]

Posted in: Assessments and data, Collaborative culture, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Personal Learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Student learning and the profession, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: accountability, administration, Angie Hanlin, coaching, consistency, data, FMCSD, George Couros, habits, It's Possible, overdeliver, Pati Montgomery, routines, sentence-level, system, The Writing Revolution, under promise, writing

Implementation Science

November 16, 2025 by megankruse

There is a great deal of pride in reflecting on the work being done in our 7th – 12th grade building around literacy interventions and support for our special education staff and students.  Our teachers, coaches, and administrators are working incredibly hard to rectify an unfortunate reality:    34% of our students are not proficient … [Read more…]

Posted in: Assessments and data, Collaborative culture, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Personal Learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Research, Student learning and the profession, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: Active Implementation Formula, ADM, Angie Hanlin, Dave Burgess, DDIA, effective implementation, effective practices, enabling context, evidence-based practices, FMCSD, Fort Madison, Harnessing the Science of Learning, implementation science, improvement cycle, intervention, Iowa School Performance Profile, It's Possible, literacy instruction, Mark C. Perna, MTSS for Reading Improvement, Nathaniel Swain, National Implementation Research Network, NIRN, Pati Montgomery, Rhonda Nelson, Sarah Brown, socially significant outcomes, special education, Stephanie Stollar, The Reading League Iowa, the science of learning, the science of reading, the science of teaching, Todd Collins, Travis Wilkins

Recent Posts

  • Explicit Instruction
  • A Week in the Life
  • The Times They Are A-Changin’
  • Durable Systems
  • Future Me

Recent Comments

  • Katie on A Week in the Life
  • Katie on Writing Woes
  • Chad Dumas on School Leaders: I’m Talking to You
  • Katie on School Leaders: I’m Talking to You
  • Katie on One Word 2026

Goodreads

Megan's bookshelf: read

The Flight Attendant
really liked it
The Flight Attendant
by Chris Bohjalian
Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts
really liked it
Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts
by Jennie Allen
Half Broke Horses
it was amazing
Half Broke Horses
by Jeannette Walls
Ground Zero
it was amazing
Ground Zero
by Alan Gratz
The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia
really liked it
The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia
by Emma Copley Eisenberg

goodreads.com

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