1,000+ Schools and Growing
Teachers Declare SOAR® 98.9% Effective in Improving Student Performance!*
Worldwide Best Selling Study Skills Book
How to Learn Top 101 Site
Adding Wisdom Award
Leading Moms in Business Competition Winner
Premier Instructor for The Learning Annex
Better Business Bureau Accredited
Susan Kruger
Author of SOAR® Study Skills
Back in 1928, Walt Disney never would have guessed that the creation of his little mouse, “Mickey,” would lead to his widespread career in the entertainment industry. Likewise, Susan Kruger, creator of SOAR® Study Skills, never would have guessed that her struggles in school and the hours of homework fights with her mother would eventually evolve into a successful career. (Her mother never would have imagined it, either!)
While Susan has extensive professional experience and training, she will tell you that her greatest asset as a teacher and study skills coach is that she has been a student for a VERY LONG time. Growing up, Susan was always the youngest member of her class and struggled in school. She was frequently frustrated with her grades that, after spending a lot of time preparing for tests or projects, never seemed to reflect her effort. She often felt frustrated and unmotivated.
However, Susan is living proof that it is possible to get better grades in less time! During her first semester of college, Susan learned several study strategies that taught her how to study smarter -not harder- enabling her to earn a 3.9 GPA that first semester. Susan was amazed to discover that these great grades were actually easier to earn than her mediocre grades from high school!
Susan has now spent the last 13 years teaching hundreds of students how to achieve success in school while also creating time for fun! She began tutoring individual students in study skills but the demand for her expertise grew, so she created the SOAR® Study Skills Workshops to reach more students. She used her experience as a teacher, tutor, and of course, as a student, to identify the core strategies students need to be successful in school. Her workshops were a great success in her community and rendered a lot of attention from schools, parents, and the local media.
Susan now has programs and resources for families across the country and around the world. Her books, teacher’s guides, training videos, classes, and audio programs provide easy and realistic solutions to the most common study problems that students and their families face. She helps students discover how to develop confidence and be successful in school, helps families tackle homework together peacefully, and enables teachers to provide tangible and successful strategies for their students.
Susan and Her Family
Susan is a Certified Teacher with a Master’s Degree as a Reading/Learning Specialist. She travels the country training teachers in study skills and language arts education and lends her talents as a consultant for a major textbook company. When she is not “working,” Susan enjoys the company of her son, daughter, husband (a fellow educator), and her large extended family.
The following story is real. It may alarm you. It’s about one high school HONOR student who got to college… and floundered! The truth is, she’s not alone. 2/3rds of high school honors students have the same problem.*
I am thrilled to introduce our summer intern, Jessie.
“I was frustrated by my students’ messy folders, lost assignments, and late work that created more work for teachers and less time for learning,” said this year’s SOAR® Teacher of the Year. “I saw a real need for organizational skills.” This frustrating yet very common problem prompted her to become a study skills leader in her school community.
I am thrilled to introduce the winner of the 2013 SOAR® Teacher of the Year award… Marlene Goodrich of South Lindon, UT! Marlene teaches 7th grade at Maeser Prep Academy and has implemented SOAR® in her school with amazing results. She has developed a whole new culture of empowerment and motivation in her school!
Research has proven that note-taking skills are an essential key to success in school.1 Yet, I never had the first idea what was important to write down in class. Nor, did I know how to make good use of classroom notes. After twenty years of teaching study skills, I can tell you that *most* students struggle with the same dilemmas. (And all that time, I thought it was just me!)
Note-taking, however, is a *very* high-level skill. The process of taking notes requires students to: pay attention to lectures about topics they usually don’t know much about, pay attention to lectures about topics they usually don’t *care* much about, process new information on-the-spot, determine if that information is important enough to write down, determine if that information is a “main idea” or “detail,” and then synthesize that information into their own words immediately. (Preferably short words.)
Now that my mom isn’t bugging me all of the time, I don’t mind doing my homework as much.
Nick C.
Tobi Flair
Public Middle School
New Orleans, LA
Tobi Flair is the principal at Harry Hurst Middle School in Destrehan, Louisiana. Her building has built a 20-minute session of “SOAR time” into their daily schedule.
More Case Studies »
Great for: