She earned her B.A. in Honors English at Johnson C. Smith University, her M.A. in English and African American Literature at Wayne State University, and her Ph.D. in English/Composition and Rhetoric at Wayne State University. Prior to joining the faculty in the College of Education at OSU, Valerie Kinloch was on faculty at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. She worked with students and teachers at local urban high schools in New York, and was a visiting senior English instructor at a high school in Harlem. She also worked as a Writing Resident in an urban middle school through the Writers-In-The-Schools program in Houston, Texas.