• Literacy research is rich with direction for classroom teachers, but there is so much to weed through! If you’re a classroom teacher, do you have time to sort through decades of research and cull through sometimes politically-charged information which can be, let’s be honest, a bit of a cure for insomnia?

    I often tell teachers who are already taxed beyond their limits, it’s my job to read research and translate it into practical use for classroom teachers, literacy coaches, and literacy specialists. My colleagues call me a research nerd and I’ll happily accept the characterization! I love to read research and imagine how findings manifest in classrooms.

    Should all research-based literacy instruction look alike? No way! In fact, we’ll discover how to adjust research based on the needs of the kids in front of you today!

    Let’s figure this out together! Working alongside classroom teachers in collaborative professional learning is my great passion and I’ve learned to separate substantive, well-corroborated research from less significant findings. Read on to discover how we might work together!

Meet Ellin Oliver Keene

Ellin Oliver Keene

Ellin has been a classroom teacher, staff developer, non-profit director and adjunct professor of reading and writing.  For sixteen years she directed staff development initiatives at the Denver-based Public Education & Business Coalition.  She served as Deputy Director and Director of Literacy and Staff Development for the Cornerstone Project at the University of Pennsylvania for 4 years. Ellin works with schools and districts throughout the country and abroad.  Her emphasis is long-term, school-based professional development and strategic planning for literacy learning.

How We Can Work Together

  • Learning Intensives

    Customized, in-person, long-range planning

    Learn More

  • Workshops and Inservices

    Single or multiple day in-person collaboration

    Learn More

  • Online Professional Learning

    Customized online learning

    Learn More

Second Episode of “In Conversation” is live!

Now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 school year. Apply to receive on-site professional learning pro bono except for travel expenses.

Latest Book ~

Latest Book ~

The Literacy Studio. Tools to re-think your workshop structure and strategically plan for integrating reading and writing. Isn’t it time?

  • “Keene turns her thinking into something tangible, something educators can grab onto and use straightaway. I finished the book (Engaging Children) on a Tuesday, I integrated the four pillars of engagement she illustrates—intellectual urgency, emotional resonance, perspective bending, and the world of the aesthetic—into my instruction on Wednesday… Ellin Oliver Keene is just the kind of thinker our profession needs. She has a thought process that leads no stone unturned. She questions our collective assumptions and her own. Somehow, Keene leads us closer to the answers while leaving us with more and more complex questions that those with which we began.”

    Aeriale Johnson, Staff Developer, Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

  • “In a world that is increasingly focused on asking teachers to use programs that center on isolated skill practice and scripted lessons, Ellin reminds us of what the research says in her books and her work in schools with teachers and students. If kids aren’t engaged, they will not remember their learning or be able to apply it in new situations… Ellin returns the students themselves to the center of their own learning and asks teachers to join her on a journey toward helping students help themselves to become engaged learners.”

    Jess Lifshitz, 5th grade teacher, Meadowbrook Elementary, Northbrook, IL

  • "Indeed, the quality of Ellin's work is a direct reflection of her passion, intellect and heart…. I’ll call it “the EOK trifecta”! From the first time I read her work (and I read Mosaic in ONE sitting) to the moment I walked into the school and saw her on the floor with my mesmerized kids, there were two things that my kids and I both knew: #1 We absolutely knew exactly what she read and what it meant. We had answers, we had questions and we were excited about both. #2 We knew she loved them."

    Cathy Taschner, Superintendent of Schools, Schuylkill Valley School District, PA

  • “It has been a privilege to observe and process with a master teacher like Ellin Keene. The opportunity to be immersed in this work with my students is a gift that energizes and feeds my teacher soul.”

    Bridget Rieth, 5th Grade Teacher, East Grand Rapids, Michigan

  • "Ellin’s work in our district has been absolutely transformational- both professionally and personally! With Ellin’s unprecedented guidance and support, we have set out on an exciting journey and continuous path to help students (and teachers alike) deepen their comprehension, appreciate the beautiful moments of thinking and discovering, and truly engage in the love of learning. If afforded the pleasure of working with Ellin, be prepared to be changed forever."

    Jody Madden, 1st Grade Teacher, Willowbrook Elementary, Northbrook IL

  • "Ellin has been the single, most important influence on my craft. She brings her deep knowledge of research, genuine care for all children and their thinking, impeccable eye for compelling literature and art, her joy for teaching and facilitation finesse to the table. Ellin always, leaves us enlightened and braver teachers. The days are too few and we follow her to the parking lot, hugging and waving. She is a part of us."

    Jill Bradley, Instructional Coach, Tillman Elementary, Manatee County, Florida