A Note from Kristi Mraz

School didn’t start as a positive experience or place for me. 

When I first started going to school, I had a lot of anger issues for very valid reasons. 

Even though I needed to learn survival skills for home, I hadn’t yet figured them out for school. Consequently, I spent a lot of quality time in the school’s hallway.

The first time I felt really good in school was sixth grade. My sixth grade reading teacher was a magical unicorn - a mix of setting high expectations for us and, at the same time, warmly inviting us into being thinkers in a way that felt new to me. She was also responsible for introducing me to an entirely new genre of literature that I needed at that time in my life - gothic fiction. (A good example of gothic fiction? Edgar Allan Poe.) School doesn’t focus often on how students’ lives can be dark. Darkness was an experience I knew. Reading gothic fiction was the first time where I felt like school spoke to the complexity that kids feel. 

When I got to college, I started taking classes in a subject I had been fascinated with - dinosaurs. Ever since I was a kid, I had been interested in dinosaurs. I loved the impossibility of it all - dinosaurs were the closest thing to pure fantasy; they were a dead world we never knew, yet, had left its imprint for the future to learn from. Simultaneously, I was working in an after-school where I was aware of a similar world - the fantasy of navigating past, present and future to create an experience. I felt like teaching was a way to move towards a fantasy world in a much more constructive way. 

Today, I serve as a consultant with a professional development style that serves as a model for the world I imagine for children and classrooms - collaborative, constructive, non-judgmental and worthy. It’s a role that honors my own experience as a student and my career as a teacher, a thinker, and a writer. A recipient of the NYS excellence award for teaching kindergarten, I am also an author of four books on education.  

When not working, I enjoy spending time with my family, rereading Kurt Vonnegut, digging into a delightful gothic horror novel on cold days, and running with a view of the mountains.

I BELIEVE in the power of play; 

Play is a tool for learning, development, and self-discovery. 

I BELIEVE in the intersection of inquiry, play, and early literacy; 

Teaching is about questions; and humans like to think about things - both opportunities and challenges. 

I BELIEVE in rereading works; 

When we do, we reprocess the known to find the unknowns. 

I BELIEVE we can shape a better world NOW; 

The world of tomorrow co-exists in the classrooms of today. 

To learn more about Kristi, please visit: kristimraz.com

  • “I consider Renee Houser someone I can continuously lean on as a thought partner. She helps me feel more confident, keeps me student-centered, and encourages me to be a lifelong learner.”

    Demi Aguirre, ELA Support Coordinator in San Pedro Community of Schools

  • “Because I am always striving to implement the best teaching practices, I know that studying with Renee is a lifetime partnership!”

    Heidi Schaefer, 3rd grade teacher in Los Angeles Unified

  • “The teachers and students at Wingate Elementary School have a love for writing they’ve never had! They have increased their knowledge and understanding of the process and how to weave the language of “process learning” throughout their day.”

    Emerald Johnson, Instructional Support Specialist in Union County Public Schools

  • “Renee is always there and willing to answer any questions that we may have about our writing process as both writers, and as teachers of writing. She has truly helped us and students enjoy writing.”

    Kimberly Hawkin, 2nd grade teacher in Union County Public School

  • “Renee fueled us. Her energy is infectious. She has a genuine love and curiosity about her and really values every single teacher she works with.”

    Kristi Mirich, Cotsen Mentor in Los Angeles Unified School District

  • “Renee has a never-ending quest to get better. She’s always pushing to stay ahead. Renee is in this work for the right reason, and no one will outwork her when it comes to learning.”

    Lou Mardesich, Community of Schools Administrator in Los Angeles Unified School District