"Dear Mrs. Kiester, a few years ago, maybe in 2003, you came to my school to give a two-day workshop to a group of teachers. At the time of the workshop, I was teaching at Garden Grove in Simi Valley, California. Although I enjoyed your presentation very much, it hasn't been until recently that I realized how valuable those two days have become to me. I have pulled out your books, Blowing Away the State Writing Assessment Test and Caught'ya, every year since then. I have taught at a number of schools and grade levels--from primary to remedial 8th grade--and all of my students have shown terrific growth and success when I use your methods and materials. This past week I was involved in another in-service day. Part of the day was to do some long-term planning for teaching writing with my grade level. We got a new teacher this year, who is very enthusiastic but inexperienced. When I brought out all of my Jane Bell Kiester materials and started sharing what I was doing, it was like seeing again for the first time. She was so excited! She got online and ordered several of your books. She will be doing the Caught'yas, and we are planning the first-ever-at-Township-Elementary Dictionary Day in May! So THANK YOU for your hard work and dedication. Know that your passion is appreciated and is being passed on to students."
-Heather Ross

"Using Jane Keister's strategies makes teaching writing so much more effective that using the state-adopted texts. I feel better about my teaching. The students feel better about their writing."
-4th-grade teacher, Simi Valley, CA

"We just completed our 4th-grade writing (California style!) and my teachers wanted me to immediately e-mail you to say THANKS! We feel very confident that our students did well. They had a narrative to write and, from glancing over the students' shoulders, we saw strong verbs! I spoke to several students after, and they said they enjoyed the topic and had fun with the story. The students also relayed some of the strong verbs as well as telling me that they used a couple of our words of the week. Join me in a BIG SMILE for the wonderful work that you do, and thanks for sharing it with us."
-Sherry LaCost, principal, Simi Valley, CA

"I am happy to inform you that I blew everyone else away with my writing scores this year, including the gifted team. (I guess I can boast a little.) My students collectively scored a 4.6 average, with 11 perfect 6.0 scores. Only 8 of my students scored less than a 4.0. Thank you for sharing your bag of tricks."
-Anne Fox

"I want to say thank you for producing the book that has turned me into a successful writing teacher. Last year was my first year to teach 8th-grade English and I was scared to death. However, I discovered your book, Blowing Away the State Writing Assessment Test, and it was the key to my success. My principal had agreed to purchase new writing textbooks for my class and he did. In the meantime, I had stumbled onto your book that a previous teacher had purchased and left behind. I began reading through it and fell in love with the ideas and concepts. To make a long story short, I taught from your book. Sadly, the new textbooks are still sitting on the shelf and have only been used for busy-work assignments. I tell everyone about your book and try to recruit others to purchase the book. Your book is the Bible to my classroom. It is unbelievable, and my goal is to spread the word. Last year our 5th-grade class scored a 96 on the State Writing Test and the 8th graders scored a 92. Thank you for making this possible."
-Amy Bolan, eighth-grade English teacher at Elgin Middle School, Elgin, OK