English and Language Arts (ELA) Archives

Pamela Burns

August 5, 2020

Pamela Burns’s passion for elementary education is realized every day as a Kindergarten teacher at a public school in Boca Raton, Florida, were she is the team leader for kindergarten. She has successfully worked with a wide range of students from primary through intermediate grades across the Boca Raton area.

A native of West Bloomfield, Michigan, Pamela moved to Boca Raton, Florida for college and found her new home in the Sunshine State. She graduated Suma Cum Laude from Lynn University with a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Special Education. Pamela serves as a faculty adviser on the school’s technology committee and models lessons for her colleagues as a Level 1 Google certified teacher. Pamela has also worked with Jane Olsen, creator of Handwriting Without Tears, to create documents that can be interactive on SMART technologies.

Pamela Burns is an expert at differentiating instruction to meet the needs of all learners. She is experienced at designing readers’ and writers’ workshop lessons that promote balanced literacy, student engagement, and strategy-based instruction. Pamela’s lessons integrate decoding, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary development, critical thinking, response writing and spelling. Pamela is trained in Orton Gillingham and The Hochman writing process. Pamela is also skilled at teaching math to younger learners through a hands-on and experiential approach. Through use of various manipulatives, TouchMath and other programs, Pamela helps students to develop improved number sense, quantitative reasoning, and problem solving strategies.

Pamela’s high energy and enthusiasm for learning is contagious! In the words of Mark Twain, “It is noble to teach oneself, but still nobler to teach others.” Pamela creates magic in the classroom every day and helps every student to feel special, valued and connected.

Christie Alexander

July 17, 2020

Christie Alexander, a compassionate teacher and private tutor with a talent for building strong relationships with students and families, has filled multiple roles in early childhood education. Most recently, she taught kindergarten at PS 234 in Tribeca, where she successfully aided her students and their families in the transition to remote learning. It was during this time that she came to fully appreciate the value of connecting with her students through one-on-one online meetings. In a challenging new learning environment, Christie prevailed in providing her students with rich learning experiences, receiving much positive feedback from the parents of students in her class. Furthermore, she bolstered her students’ academic skills in reading and math through a variety of differentiated activities.

Previous to teaching at PS 234, Christie Alexander taught pre-k and kindergarten at Little Missionary’s Day Nursery, a private school in the East Village. In this role, Christie took great joy in creating a project-based curriculum which followed student interest and integrated learning across content areas.

Christie Alexander earned her B.A. from American University, double majoring in International Studies and Spanish Language. After earning an additional degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology, Christie worked in the private sector for several years. Christie’s diverse work experience has added to her robust skill set as an educator; along the way she has honed organization and management skills, problem solving skills, and the ability to coach young children through emotional learning. Christie has experience teaching Investigations, Teachers College Reading and Writing Units of Study, Fundations (an Orton-Gillingham based program), and Sounds in Motion.

Becoming a mother is what made Christie discover her passion for working with children and drove her to pursue a graduate degree in Early Childhood Education at Hunter College. After graduating, she entered the workforce and hasn’t looked back.

In her free time Christie enjoys traveling, reading, cooking and baking, kickboxing and exercising, and spending time with her family.

Sam Kleinman

July 9, 2020

Sam Kleinman is a master teacher and private tutor with a wealth of diverse teaching experiences. He has taught at various international and private schools all over the world. Having started his teaching career as a third grade teacher at the Dalton School, Sam then moved on to Berlin, Germany where he worked at an American International School called the John F. Kennedy School in Berlin. There he taught as a 5th and 6th grade homeroom teacher. His latest school experience was at an international school located in Accra, Ghana, where he taught the 3rd grade PYP curriculum to a highly international class.

Becoming an educator has been a lifelong goal for Sam. His love of teaching began at the Ethical Culture Field School where he went to high school. As part of Fieldston Lower’s after-school program, Sam tutored students in need of math support. He loved the work and still holds the giant thank you card made by those early beginning students he first tutored. In college, Sam continued to explore his interest in education, working as a student-teacher at the local high school in Oberlin, Ohio. Upon graduating from college, Sam then went on to receive his Master’s of Childhood Education at the Bank Street College of Education in New York.

Sam Kleinman’s goal as an educator is to work with students to help them reach their full potential and develop an everlasting love for learning. He believes the most effective way to do this is to have students actively engaged in their learning while celebrating the small moments of success along the way. It is also important to Sam that teachers recognize that not everyone learns the same way and, therefore, he works to create an individualized learning environment, in which each student accesses the material comfortably. To accomplish this goal, Sam pulls from a wide range of strategies, using hands-on materials and interactive lessons, adhering to a modality that fits the child’s learning style.

As education has moved to online learning platforms, so has Sam as he has quickly adapted to these contemporary trends. He effectively utilizes digital tools to help students navigate their learning both intellectually and technologically. Sam strives to maintain a balance so that the learning environment is effective and relevant to the contemporary experience of education, while maintaining an online environment that is personal and connected.

Sam is a voracious reader and is currently working on his first novel. He has written for an online film magazine, and even though he no longer produces content for the website, he continues to passionately watch movies in his spare time. Sam is an avid New York sports fan, who grew up playing every sport known to mankind. He enjoys painting, music of every genre, astronomy and learning about the latest advances in the scientific pursuit of space exploration.

Jessica McLaren

July 9, 2020

Jessica McLaren is passionate about advocating, educating, and helping individuals with learning disabilities and ADHD. Jessica has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Marist College and a Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University in New York City. Jessica works one-on-one as a program aide with students with autism and other visible and invisible disabilities at a private school in Maryland. As a private tutor and executive function coach, Jessica helps students with organization, time management, introducing new study skills, and academic struggles.

Jessica McLaren is an active member in the disability community and a public speaker advocating and educating about learning disabilities and ADHD. She is on the board of the Learning Disabilities Association of Maryland in Montgomery County and a co-leader of an online support group for young adults with ADHD and learning disabilities. As a board member she assists and educates teachers, administrators, and parents about learning disabilities and the different services available. As a co-leader, Jessica supports and helps young adults with different challenges that are faced daily. This may include struggles in the work place, at home, with friends or family or just in general. Jessica has great desire to help others see their success and support them in anyway possible.

Jessica McLaren has presented about self-advocacy and learning disabilities to elementary aged children, college students, and organizations. Jessica spoke at the 2019 Learning Disabilities Association of America Annual Conference about the Impact educators and parents have on a successful transition for individuals with learning disabilities and ADHD.

In her spare time, Jessica enjoys watching sports, especially football and basketball, traveling, and spending time outside with family and friends. Her favorite football team is the Buffalo Bills and during football session she can be found watching the game! Most importantly Jessica likes to make people smile and believe in themselves. She always says “We can all achieve success! We define success, no one else does.”

Elizabeth Schiff

March 20, 2020

Elizabeth Schiff is an enthusiastic Learning Specialist and private tutor with over 25 years experience teaching and tutoring reading, writing, math, science, French, and social studies for K-8th grades, as well as English, history and French for high school students. Elizabeth has an MS.Ed in Elementary Education from Bank Street College of Education, an AB in English and American Literature from Brown University, and she graduated from The Brearley School. Elizabeth has taught all grades from Kindergarten to 4th and has tutored many students in 1st through 12th grades. Moreover, she is trained in Orton- Gillingham based interventions, including PAF.

Elizabeth Schiff absolutely loves teaching and makes learning fun! She has taught at private, public and charter schools, and has extensive experience with a broad range of learning styles and differences, including: ADD/ADHD; executive functioning; dyslexia and decoding; graphomotor/fine motor; processing; short term memory; receptive and expressive language; visual-spatial and motor planning; and anxiety disorder. She focuses on improving students’ self-esteem by offering consistent positive encouragement and feedback, supporting them academically, and teaching them the skills and analytical thinking they need in order to be successful.

Through informal assessments, Elizabeth develops an individualized plan that addresses each student’s strengths, interests and needs, and she uses a wide variety of developmentally-appropriate methodologies, resources, games and activities specifically designed for each student. She gives frequent oral and written feedback to parents, and stays in close communication with teachers and learning specialists when appropriate. She generally works long-term with students, but she also does test preparation for the ISEE, the SHSAT and the SSAT, and she teaches interview skills.

Elizabeth Schiff has tutored students from Dalton, Chapin, Brearley, Ethical Culture/Fieldston, Columbia Grammar, Trevor Day, Rodeph Sholom, The Town School, The Dwight School, Professional Children’s School, United Nations International School, Speyer Legacy, Stephen Gaynor, Gateway and multiple public schools.

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Pamela Burns

Christie Alexander

Elizabeth Schiff

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