Laurie Gross
Laurie Gross brings her expertise to My Learning Springboard as an Executive Director, Special Education Consultant and Advocate, Reading Specialist, and Educational Consultant for families and schools in the New York City, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Rockville, Washington, DC, and Boca Raton areas.
Laurie is a highly experienced educator and consultant with more than 40 years of experience in the Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) system and beyond. Laurie’s experience as a special educator, general educator, tutor, special education supervisor, and principal, along with her strong beliefs that each and every faculty member must be committed to helping students learn and that every student will master the material being taught, has enabled her to build a partnership based on trust between students, faculty and the community. Her extensive experience with special education students, their families and her colleagues makes her uniquely qualified to assist families and schools in designing appropriate educational programs for their student(s). Laurie views herself as a child advocate who places the needs of the child above all else.
Early in her career, Laurie taught children with learning disabilities and emotional disturbances in grades 5-12 and was a special educator at the high school level. She then moved into administration as a special education supervisor, providing support and oversight to the special education programs in 25 (K-12) schools. Laurie spent the last 18 years as an elementary school principal. With dual Master’s degrees in Reading (K-12) and Special Education (K-12), as well as Administrative Certification, Laurie has a unique perspective regarding student learning and how to best deliver instruction to all students. These skills have enabled her to be a highly sought after resource to her colleagues, her community, her clients, and MCPS.
Prior to her retirement from Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, Laurie served as principal of Somerset Elementary School in Chevy Chase for nine years. Somerset Elementary School is one of the highest ranked schools in Montgomery County as well as the state of Maryland. Under Laurie’s leadership, the student body grew from under 400 students to over 500 students, while maintaining an excellent instructional program that met the needs of all of its increasingly diverse student body.
Somerset provides an inclusive educational environment for all students in its attendance area. As a Home School Model school, all special education students are fully included in their grade level classrooms with support provided in a seamless manner using a co-teaching model as well as a pull-out model.
During her tenure in MCPS, Laurie worked collaboratively at the school, cluster and central level, building relationships that allowed her to secure resources for her students and school(s). As she said each year to an audience of parents at Back-to-School Night, “being smart is not something that you are born with, it is something that can be learned and it is our responsibility to figure out what your children already know; what they need to learn; and what to do if they already know what we are teaching.” She will do the same for your children.
View Laurie’s LinkedIn profile.
Hi Laurie,
Would love to chat with you! Let me know if you have time in the next several weeks.