"I am a NY State certified teacher in general and special education for grades 1-6 . I taught at a high performing charter school in Manhattan for 10 years as both a general education and special education teacher. With the recent birth of my daughter, I am taking some time off from teaching in the classroom but wish to continue working with students.

My teaching philosophy is that every student is capable of achieving at a high level, and it is the teacher's job to determine which supports and scaffolding are necessary to help get them there. What I love about teaching is the cognitive challenge of determining what each unique individual needs.

I try to think outside the box with my interventions. I had success giving a student with difficulty writing a digital audio recorder so they could externalize their ideas without the added difficulty of manually putting down words. Another student who struggled with division showed remarkable improvement when we constructed a model soda vending machine and put the mathematics in the context of filling the machine with different flavors of soda.

I have extensive training and experience with several different highly effective elementary level math curricula. These include Stern Math, Context for Learning, and Cognitively Guided Instruction.

I have training and experience using the Fountas and Pinnel leveled literacy assessment system and always begin my reading tutoring with an assessment using this system. I use the results to pinpoint the exact areas of weakness and target those areas using high interest material. I reassess students every 4-6 weeks to determine their growth and any new areas to target in our sessions.

I have experience using research based phonics instruction systems that utilize direct and systematic teaching. This includes both Wilson Fundations and Recipe for Reading" less...