ELEVATING LEARNING FOR LASTING IMPACT

The Knowledge Collective

Helping schools cultivate their vision with customized learning, teaching and training programs - and now working with parents to provide a seamless integration between school and home.

Customized Education Solutions for Educators and Parents

For over five years, The Knowledge Collective has created customized, high-impact solutions that empower educators, schools & families to improve student outcomes and foster intellectual growth. Through executive coaching, educator trainings, and curriculum design, TKC improves instructional practice throughout all levels of the school, helping institutions actualize their greater vision. This on-the-ground experience also provides parents unique insight into what is going on within their child’s schooling through TKC workshops and resources that guide parents on the best ways support & advocate for their children.

When you sign up to work with me, you get to partner with a singular expert in the field —not a rotating team or a generic approach. TKC doesn’t sell one-size-fits-all solutions; everything we create is customized to your unique needs, ensuring a truly personalized experience.

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Services for Educators and Parents

  • Institutional Diagnostics

    Working closely with our school district partners, we diagnose the root cause of systemic issues through thorough, data driven examination, proposing next steps, and creating a purposeful action plan.

  • Bespoke Curriculum & Professional Development

    We design high-quality, evidence-based resources to satisfy goals that are aligned to a vision of excellence and equity.

    We develop learning opportunities using scientific and technical knowledge that improve practice, build capacity, and sustain results.

  • Parent Coaching & Empowerment

    In addition to our work with schools, we also provide parents unique insight into what is going on within their child’s schooling, and offer workshops for how to best support & advocate for their child.

Meet Kristen

“After working in schools for over a decade, I wanted to share my expertise with a larger audience and make a greater impact on students across the country. I felt like schools needed a more customized approach to their teaching and learning and I could help them cultivate that vision and then design programming to actualize it.”

Kristen Zakierski, The Knowledge Collective Founder

Kristen Zakierski, the founder and heart of The Knowledge Collective, has dedicated her decades-long career in education to helping students reach their full potential through her time in the classroom, her work with school administrations across the country, and her newest venture focusing on empowering parents.

Before beginning her work in the educational consulting space in 2019, she led the regional academic team for KIPP NYC tasked with overhauling elementary schools’ curriculum and assessment design, instructional practices, and professional development strategy for leaders and teachers. Prior to KIPP, Kristen was the principal of Success Academy Crown Heights, a Title I school in Brooklyn, NY that was ranked the #1 top-performing elementary school in New York State under her leadership, with 100% of students passing the state math exam (95% earning the highest possible score) and 98% passing ELA.

Kristen started her career as an elementary education corps member for Teach for America, eventually rising to the role of Manager of Teacher Leadership Development where she was an integral part of the Elementary Math Design Group, using data to transform the organization's collective approach to math instruction. ​

Kristen graduated from Vanderbilt University with a double major in Cognitive Studies and Child Development. She received her master's degree in teaching from Pace University. Kristen lives in New York with her husband and three children.

TKC Has Helped Countless Parents & Educators

  • “Kristen is brilliant. No matter the content or scope of work - from foundational math training to student materials creation - everything she does is high quality and easy to implement. ”

    - Jim, Chief Schools Officer

  • “Classes with Kristen are eye opening, informative, and fun! Kristen explains how our children are learning in school and equips parents with the tools that can best help our children at home as they embark on their reading and math journeys. Using some of the strategies Kristen taught me, I was able to work with my son to continue to build his confidence and skill level while having fun! I too feel more confident in my approach to helping my child after attending her workshops!”

    — Jamie, mom of two

  • "The session was really practical and gave me ideas that I could actually implement. It took a lot of the guesswork out of what to focus on and instead provided me with fun activities that were engaging for my son and, importantly, easy for me to do!”

    — Shane, dad of three

  • “Working with Kristen has been transformative for both me and my school. She has an incredible ability to take any challenge I bring forward and guide me in developing and executing a clear, strategic plan to address it. Her coaching has been invaluable—she doesn’t just provide solutions, she builds my capacity to lead with clarity and precision. Because of her guidance, I feel more confident in making instructional decisions that directly impact student learning.”

    — Melissa, Chief Academic Officer

  • “Kristen’s class was incredibly helpful — I came away with real, easy-to-implement techniques that I use with my kids every day. I can’t recommend her classes enough to any parent looking to set their child up for success with reading and math at any age.”

    — Natalie, mom of four

  • “I saw my daughter’s knowledge, skills, confidence and love for math increase. Kristen makes learning fun and interesting!”

    — Anuja, mom to two

  • "Working with Kristen at our school has been absolutely transformative for our teachers, students, and families. Kristen provided us with high-quality professional development for our staff, train-the-trainer expertise for our instructional leaders, as well as daily, weekly, quarterly, and full year curricular materials for our entire school. Through our partnership with Kristen, our students not only deepened their love for mathematics, but we were able to see impressive levels of student growth and achievement.”

    — Andrew, K-5 Principal