Online Instructor and Master Trainer

E-mail: kelley@gurianinstitute.com

Kelley King is a 25 year veteran of the public school system, an international speaker, an author, and the mother of both a son and a daughter. As a Master Trainer for the Gurian Institute, Kelley travels widely to deliver keynotes, teacher workshops, and consultation to educators and parents.

Additionally, she develops cutting-edge training curricula for both on-site trainings and online coursework and supports the development and marketing of GI certified trainers around the world.

Kelley’s education background includes licensure in special education, regular education and school administration. She has worked at the elementary, middle and high school levels in regular education, special education and gifted and talented programs. Kelley has worked in schools serving diverse racial, linguistic and socioeconomic student populations, as well as schools ranging from rural, one-room schoolhouses to large suburban schools. Kelley has provided teacher training in a number of inner-city, Title I schools across the country.

For the past eleven years, Kelley has been a school administrator. Kelley and the staff at Douglass Elementary School in Boulder Colorado gained national media attention for their notable success in closing the literacy achievement gap between boys and girls in just one year.

Kelley was recently interviewed for School Leadership Briefing about her new book, “Writing the Playbook, A Practitioner’s Guide to Creating Boy-Friendly Schools.”
Listen to the interview HERE.

Kelley’s work has been featured on The Today Show, National Public Radio, and National Health Journal, as well as in Newsweek magazine and in Educational Leadership. Kelley co-authored (with Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens) two books which were released in March 2008: Strategies for Teaching Boys and Girls: Elementary Level and Strategies for Teaching Boys and Girls: Secondary Level.

Kelley’s husband, Chris, is a retired school superintendent. Currently, they are sharing the remarkable journey of parenting two teenagers – a son and a daughter.

Kelley writes: ”I have engaged in intensive study of the gender-based brain differences and nature-based strategies for teaching and learning since 2004. As a school principal, I led my school through an improvement process targeted at closing the gender gap, including the analysis of the data, professional dialogue and training, and the identification and implementation of effective strategies. Through action research, I have been able to demonstrate the effectiveness of ‘Minds of Boys’ and ‘Boys and Girls Learn Differently’ theory to enhance the achievement of all students.

“In 1994, I became the mother of a son (and in 1995, a daughter) and have been drawn into the foreign and perplexing world of the male brain. Long before I read about Gurian’s work and the neurology of the boy brain, I was inventing motherhood-survival strategies like having my son do push-ups while practicing multiplication tables or having him hold a chin-up while trying to recite his spelling words forwards and backwards. Without understanding the science behind it, I was instinctively using a nature-based approach when I tapped into his unique and inherently ‘male’ biological design.

“As a certified trainer, I am somewhat unique in that I am currently engaged in the daily work of schooling and parenting. I am neither a retiree nor an empty-nester. My stories are a rich tapestry of first-hand, in-the-moment testimonials (the kind that start out with, ‘This actually happened in a third grade class last week…’) about the theory that can yield extraordinary results in classrooms and at kitchen tables across this great nation. I can tell the stories with the happy endings – that my son lived to learn his multiplication tables and that my very own school landed on the cover of Newsweek.

Knowing the Audience:

“I AM the audience. I have walked in the shoes of the regular classroom teacher, the special education teacher, the teacher of the gifted, and the school administrator for 20 years. I walk alongside many others in the journey of parenting. I have immediate credibility with both educators and parents as a result of both my professional and personal roles and the national exposure that my school and I have received. I understand the competing demands, the distractions, the mindsets, the politics and the resources of public education. I live the everyday ups-and-downs of school life from board policy to playground rules, high-stakes testing to skinned knees, over-extended resources to Pajama Day. I understand the push-pull relationship of mounting pressure to increase test scores, and the need to foster playfulness and joy in learning. I walk in these shoes. I can speak from the head, the heart and the hands. This is my life work and those in the audience are my trusted partners and colleagues.

Delivering the Message with Power and Purpose:

“I bring energy, intelligence, a sense of humor, the ability to read a crowd, home-grown personal and professional stories, strong oral communication skills, on-my-feet thinking and wit, and an ongoing commitment to adult learning. I deliver a dynamic, engaging, relevant and practical training to both large and small audiences and am comfortable tailoring presentations to meet the needs of the school or organization. I began seeking trainer-of-trainer roles very early in my career and now, as the Education Division Director, speak regularly in front of groups, facilitate meetings, deliver trainings, and craft presentations for many different audiences.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I believe that this work is urgent and compelling. It is an incredible time to be in education. Societal evolution has far outpaced biological evolution and, at the same time, our scientific knowledge base is exploding before our eyes. The confluence of these events creates awe-inspiring and unprecedented opportunities. I am a strong proponent of supporting all children and I also recognize the difficulties that our boys, in particular, are experiencing in schooling and in life. The nature-based approach that helps girls – and is absolutely essential for boys – must be shared broadly so that teachers, administrators and parents can help their students.

“Through speaking engagements, membership on The Boys Project board, and professional writing, I am helping to spread the word that boys and girls learn differently so that all children may benefit from best practice in their classrooms and in their homes. It is my sincere desire to fulfill this important mission in schools and communities across the country.” 

“With Boys in Mind / Teaching to the Minds of Boys”
Article by Kelley King and Michael Gurian, Educational Leadership, September, 2006

What participants are saying about Kelley’s training:

“This training gave us:

“It was great doing the activities, not just reading about them. Great presenter with a lot of ideas!”

“Relevant research and real world ideas and connections to use in my classroom—as well as at home with my own two children. This was the best workshop/training I’ve been to in twenty years!”

“Terrific information—Kelley knows it well, and it was presented in an interesting way. I loved that we tried things we can use.”

“Presenter is very knowledgeable of her topic, and highly entertaining!”

“I was drawn to this seminar by the fact that you included girls—as the mother of a daughter I don’t want her education to take a back seat!”

“Kelley was an amazing speaker, always keeping me engaged in the useful information she had to offer. She was a clear speaker and her slides were relevant to the text we were given.”

“Kelley actually used the strategies she was talking about. Sadly, this happens all too infrequently.”

“The overall presentation: pacing, appropriateness, relevance of content, activities – they were all great!”

“The emphasis on ‘relationship with students. WE need to hear this more…”

What participants are saying about Kelley and Ashanti Branch:

It was awesome!! The presenters used the techniques and strategies the entire time to engage learners!

I really like how we actually did many of the activities so we know how to implement them. Overall the training was great!

The presentation was excellent—the presenters made my “rubber band expand”

A lot of fantastic ideas and we were actually able to get up and move around.

What participants are saying about Kelley’s online class:

It was so great to do this as a school. I’m so glad that we were able to go deeper into these topics and share what we are trying in our classrooms. We were able to hear what others are doing which was nice because we don’t get a chance to share with each other very often. Thank you so much Kelley!

I am challenged by the ideas both in the text and presentations but also by my fellow teachers. It is exciting to know that there is indeed something new under the sun. I like the idea that you can go online, read an entry and then as early as the next class day, start to implement the suggestions given.

Kelley, I absolutely loved the topic and the understanding I gained through your questions. There were many times I felt so enlightened by the process of examining my experiences and digging deeper into the content.

The subject matter is part of what made this class such an excellent choice. As a current classroom teacher, I cannot afford to miss a chance to better reach all learners in my class. This course provided down-to-earth, real-life information that I can use immediately. The online discussions were good – I appreciate the feedback and answers to my questions, as well as new ideas to try.

I think the course was thought-provoking, worth my time, money, and effort. It challenged me to think about my classroom in ways I wouldn’t have been able to do independently, and it gave me practical ideas and strategies to use in my classroom. I have already recommended this course to fellow colleagues and I think it was a great learning experience for new teachers.

I truly hate to see this course finish up! So many opportunities for learning have presented themselves through readings and great interaction with others. I loved the forum for this course and really believe we just got going, lots more to say!

This course provided great opportunities to directly use the information within the classroom while taking the course. There were a number of great hands-on, ready to use ideas. I loved the option to share materials, videos, etc. Thank you for the energy that this class brought to my teaching.

This course provided great opportunities to directly use the information within the classroom while taking the course. There were a number of great hands-on, ready to use ideas. I loved the option to share materials, videos, etc. Thank you for the energy that this class brought to my teaching.

I found this course to be extremely helpful in providing me with language and scientific data which helped me better understand phenomena I have perceived in classrooms and in working with students for many years.

The course has been very informative – confirming some of my beliefs but surprising me with data that dramatically changed my ideas about how an adolescent brain works. The scientific evidence was so convincing that it has forever changed how I will conduct my classes. Kelley, you have given us great feedback and guidance. Thank you for all your efforts – I’m sure that our students (present and future) will be much the richer for all of your leadership.
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See Kelley on Kids in the House HERE.