**  Scroll down for detailed recommendations from LinkedIn
  • 'You have been instrumental in my success over the last 4 years."
  • 'Susana is like a shot of adrenaline!'
  • I loved the training!  My coworkers and I all said that we learned more in this PD than any other!  Also, my favorite part about the training was how we practiced every strategy we learned.  Susana was very knowledgeable in everything she explained.  Excellent PD!  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!  One of the best district PDs, if not the best!​
  • Organized, detailed interaction, and informational.  Highly recommend another workshop.'
  • The speaker, Susana, was amazing!  The content was brought to life by her energy and confidence.'
  • 'Well presented, thought provoking questions.'
  • 'Susana is an excellent educator.  All the materials presented are appropriate and useful for my classroom.'
  • 'I have been happily engaged during the entire presentation.  This will bring the fun back to teaching!'
  • 'I gained a plethora of useful thoughts and ideas  Your classes are always a renewal of the passion I feel as a teacher.'
  • 'I feel empowered to take the knowledge I learned today and execute it successfully with my various groups of students.  I feel excited to meet cool new people and to gain a wealth of knowledge.'
  • 'I am going to adjust my lessons to incorporate the SIOP model.  I will give students more opportunities to work together, and make sure that they are not just repeating the information but learning the information by providing real learning opportunities.'
  • 'I feel enthusiastic.  I am ready to go!'
  • 'The new ideas I learned today are very useful and will definitely help my students become more interested in my lessons.'
  • 'I would like to attend every workshop Susana gives.  She is great.'
  • 'Great job. Especially for a Friday!'
  • 'You are a great speaker and you reach us.'
  • 'Great presentation!  You have wonderful public speaking skills.'
  • 'I always enjoy Ms. Matos-Kruck's workshops.  They are always interesting and fun.'
  • 'I love how she opens our eyes to how the kids feel.'
  • 'Thank you so much for the knowledge, support, feedback and opportunities you passed on to us.'
  • 'Great, once again, connections, enthusiasm, knowledge.  You are the best!'
  • 'I will now try to plan and teach my students better, giving them more choices, challenging them, and 'upping the bar'!'
  • The presenter brought forth actual and realistic value from the field.
  • The only thing that would enhance this session would have been to have more time.
  • Susana was very engaging and motivating.  I will remember this class forever.
  • I feel that as a first year teacher, this class was amazing. I now feel more prepared to go into my classroom on Monday with more confidence, and many new, educational, and fun ideas.

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LinkedIn Recommendations for Up the Bar Consulting:

Geri Ledford
Federal Programs Supervisor at Garfield Board of Education
I highly recommend Ms. Susana Matos-Kruk for presenting PD in your education system. She worked with us in Garfield and all teachers and administrators found her to be an extremely engaging, dynamic, intelligent, interesting, and high energy person. We found her to be highly knowledgeable on the subject matter. She kept the momentum going throughout the day by using different activities to assure all staff were participating at all times, and moved smoothly through the activities so there was no down time. There was whole group instruction and small group work. She switched the groups up so there was more interaction among the staff. Teachers willingly moved out of their comfort zone and went with the flow of activities; Ms. Matos-Kruck is very personable and invites you to participate in a meaningful manner. She makes you feel that you want to be involved. Ms. Matos-Kruck designed her presentation to meet the needs of our district in every detail. She will do the same for you. All teacher surveys on her PD came back rating her as highly effective. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe Ms. Matos-Kruck and I look forward to working with her again. She will be highly effective in your education system too!

Nicole Ward
Elementary school teacher, Passaic Public Schools
I was lucky enough to begin my teaching career six years ago in a district rich in diversity, and full of opportunities to do my best work as an educator. Much of my success in the classroom is a result of the many strategies Susana Matos-Kruk helped me to develop. She is passionate about her work, and is dedicated to encouraging educators to “up the bar” so that students can reach their full academic potential. 
Susana Matos-Kruk coached me to apply differentiated instruction across curricular areas. She also helped me to understand how to use data to drive instruction in my classroom, and to use data to perform interventions. Her workshop on reciprocal teaching strategies has helped me reinforce strong reading comprehension skills in my classroom. Her workshops are engaging and purposeful. Our district has greatly benefited from the work of Susan Matos-Kruck.

Susan Yedwab
Retired teacher, Passaic Public Schools
I am now retired from teaching, but I had the pleasure of attending several workshops given by Susana Matos-Kruck, before I retired. I am sure there may be some retired teachers that would leave the benefits, and knowledge gained through her workshops behind, but I am not one of those people. I still have a love of teaching in my heart, and her workshops will always be in my heart, and mind as well. While teaching, like most teachers, I attended workshop after workshop, but Susana's workshops were always something to look forward to. She was not only there to give workshops, but to listen to our problems, and concerns, as well. They were always interesting, and sometimes entertaining. Although I taught for almost 30 years, I always left her workshops feeling like I learned something new. A new approach, or strategy to help my teaching, and as a result help my students learn, most importantly of all. I highly recommend Susana Matos-Kruck to any school, and teacher to help teachers teach more effectively.

Miguel A. Frias
Assistant Principal at Passaic Board of Education
Over the past 6 years, I have had the pleasure of working with Susana in two different capacities: first, when I was a special education teacher and then when I was promoted to assistant principal. While I was teaching, Susana challenged my thinking and my approach to education. We often engaged in thoughtful debate about the nature of educational equity and how we could best position ourselves to deliver a quality education to all students. In my role as assistant principal, Susana provided me with valuable support and insight as she continued to coach and train my staff of teachers. I find her opinions interesting, thought provoking and intellectually challenging. I greatly value the times we have shared as they have helped shape me.  I recommend Susana wholeheartedly because I am confident that she will be successful at anything she chooses to accomplish. Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding this matter.

​Pedro J. Ruiz, Ph.D
Supervisor Bilingual, ESL and World Languages at Irvington School District, New Jersey
​"I recently contracted Susana Matos-Kruck, Up The Bar Consulting, to design and lead an intensive three-day series of cohort classes for 120 middle and high school teachers and administrators, focusing on the effective integration of English Learners (EL) into the mainstream classroom. Not only did Susana deliver on key strategies that could be readily implemented in the classroom, she also inspired teachers to authentically reflect upon their current practices in order to make room for improvement. It was apparent to all participants that Susana is passionate about the field of education and that she is committed to excellence and equity in education for all students. Her passion, combined with her wealth of experience in working with diverse populations, allows her to lead educators to ‘Up The Bar’ on the quality of education they deliver to their students. I look forward to a sustained partnership with Susana as she continues to cultivate a culture of success and possibility in our school district." 

Phil Delzotto
Varsity Football Offensive Coordinator / Linebackers Coach at Belleville High School District
"Susana was a great help to me and all the teachers of the Passaic School District...She is up to date on the current cutting edge issues in education and any new teaching techniques in education. Susana is here to help mentor and advise any teacher at any point in their career. She puts the kids first. I'm proud to work by her side."

Joanne Czap
School Improvement Plan/Data Coordinator at Passaic High School
"Susana Matos-Kruck came to Passaic High School to address our need to improve Climate & Culture. The staff was extremely receptive to the content of her information due, primarily, to her professional delivery of instruction and the respect and understanding with which she worked with the staff. Susana not only has the depth of knowledge but possesses the ability to deliver the material."