Grant Bergland was an intern at The New Yorker, taught at Columbia University, worked as a part-time Professor at The New School, and helped countless students earn top tier (and sometimes perfect) scores on standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, and ISEE tests.
Part of Grant’s secret to being a great educator is that he comes from a family of teachers and has worked as a special education teacher. Over the past 25 years, Grant has taught students from the ages of 8 to 89 as a classroom teacher, private tutor, wrestling coach, curriculum writer, Executive Function Coach, and Adult Education instructor.
Grant Bergland published his thesis at Columbia University and holds a Master’s of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Writing. A Master’s degree in English Literature and dual teaching credentials in English Rhetoric/Composition and Art History/Design round out Grant’s background as a master educator. Grant is a member of the National Education Association (NEA), holds a Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development (CLAD) certification, and has a College Reading and Language Association (CRLA) Master Tutor certificate.
As an undergrad, Grant wrestled for Arizona State University’s Division I program and met Dan Gable, Dave Schultz, J. Robinson, Lee Roy Smith, Dan Severn, and trained with two time Olympian Zeke Jones. Grant was a Sun Devil “Spark” award-winning athlete and followed a pre-med curriculum before being hired by Arizona State’s Writing Center where he discovered his love for composition.
“I’d never seen how important writing was until I started looking at my student’s successes and near-misses. Being able to present your thoughts in a way that any other person can feel is hard work. Actually, when you think about it, getting someone to understand you is the most important work we do in our lives.” Grant says.
Within a month of graduation, Grant Bergland was hired by Mt. Diablo Unified School District where he taught for ten years. His first assignment was teaching Economics, Earth Science, and Biology in Clayton Valley High School’s Special Education department. “I learned how to be a great teacher while teaching students with learning differences. I had to teach several classes simultaneously through a combination of various levels of scaffolding to fit my students’ needs. Also, I learned to be an entertainer and “sell” whatever it was that I was teaching at the time.”
Grant Bergland was a case manager for high school students and managed their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), which involved anticipating ways to meet the needs of students with learning disabilities and other obstacles to their education. To complete these IEPs, Grant conducted collaborative meetings with curriculum specialists, speech pathologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, teachers, principals, and parents.
Grant taught every level of High School composition (Grades 9-12), standardized test preparation, wrote curriculum approved to meet the A-F requirements for the University of California, and served as the department chair.
Under the banner of having big dreams and working hard to achieve them, Grant helped many students write admissions essays for applications to top tier colleges: “I can’t tell you how satisfying it was when I’d see a student run towards me across the school quad with an acceptance letter in hand saying: ‘I never thought I’d ever get in!’ It’s a great feeling to know you helped someone start living the life of their dreams,” Grant says.
In 2010, Grant Bergland moved to New York City, aided by a full tuition scholarship from Columbia University and 97th percentile ranking on the Verbal section of the GRE. At Columbia, he studied with notable writers, interned in the Fiction department at The New Yorker magazine, introduced George Saunders to a crowd of over a thousand, and was accepted into the prestigious Bread Loaf Writer’s Workshop founded in 1926 by Robert Frost.
As an academic coach with My Learning Springboard, Grant Bergland has coached dozens of students to earn perfect scores on their SAT and ACT writing prompts and top 1% or perfect scores in all sections. He also tutors middle school students the same skills for the SSAT and ISEE exams with the same level of passion and success. Grant co-authored the ACT and ISEE curriculum for My Learning Springboard and has written both ISEE and ACT test. Moreover, he’s worked as a homeschool teacher for Manhattan families, helped hundreds of students with writing coaching and executive function coaching, and gained a reputation for being able to advise, inspire, and work with any student.
“So much of who we are depends on identity,” Grant says. “Some students think they can never do something and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s my job to help them see and eventually believe they can do more than they ever thought possible. Work is effortless for students who believe that they are writing their own amazing story. I help them find that truth (whatever that might be for them) and get them started on an exciting life. In this way I feel I have the noblest of professions.”
He is a father of two, wrote and directed an award-winning short film, wrote four novels, traveled the world, and rides a very big motorcycle.
Lilyan Aloma
Lilyan Aloma is an established educator with more than 20 years of experience as a Spanish teacher in New York City independent schools. Lilyan specializes in developing creative foreign language programs in Spanish and French for individuals and small groups, elementary level through high school. In addition, Lilyan is a highly acclaimed Fine Art Photographer, who has taught photography to Grades 5 through 12 for Project Arts, a division of the Department of Education, as well for independent schools.
Whether she is in a classroom or privately tutoring a small group or an individual student, Lilyan bases her teaching on the Language Experience Approach. This approach makes the clear distinction between learning a new language and truly acquiring a new language. The idea is to allow the student to “pick-up” the language almost in a subconscious manner, in much the same way we acquired our first language. Opportunities for listening comprehension are an essential component of this method. Language acquisition is fostered by the use of age-appropriate tasks that are meaningful. Props, games, stories, poetry, and visual art provide authenticity and help support traditional textbooks. Students acquire new languages when engaged in activities that are fun and relevant to their development. Lilyan provides individualized study plans that challenge her students and inspire a love of language learning.
Education and the arts have been interwoven throughout the course of Lilyan’s teaching career. As a Fine Artist and professional photographer, Lilyan has received international recognition for her work through acquisition, competition, and exhibition. In 2010, she was awarded a Fellowship from the Aaron Siskind Foundation for outstanding achievement in photography. Lilyan sculpts individualized photography classes for MLS students interested in learning the basics of photography or for those who are interesting in expressing themselves through the creative vehicle of photography.
Finally, Lilyan has professional experience in the world of school admissions, specifically at the elementary level. She worked closely with the Former Director of Admissions at the Village Community School (VCS), a K-8 independent school in Greenwich Village. She was responsible for conducting parent interviews, managing children’s playgroup assessments for incoming kindergarten placement, and visiting nursery schools to observe potential candidates. Lilyan played a similar role at Waterfront Montessori in Jersey City, NJ. She has a keen ability to determine what schools might be the right match for a particular child and enjoys working closely with families throughout the challenging admissions process.
Andrea Cukier
Andrea Cukier has been privately tutoring Spanish and English both with individuals and corporations since 1991. In addition to being a certified Spanish teacher, she holds a dual Masters degree in Art Education and Fine Arts. For many years she has been working as a visual artist and as a Spanish teacher.
Andrea was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina and now resides in New York City. She is a US citizen and is fully bilingual in English and Spanish, as well as fluent in Hebrew and Italian. She has traveled extensively in South America, exploring variations in Spanish language and culture and helping her students understand and deal with those differences.
Andrea has worked as a bilingual art teacher for New York City’s public school system and as a private Spanish tutor for children in elementary, middle and high schools. She loves combining the different skills that she has acquired through the years in guiding children in the fascinating process of acquiring a new language.
Andrea also enjoys teaching grown-ups. Among her clients are HSBC Bank, H&M, Former New York City Comptroller Bill Thomson, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, CNBC’s Michelle Caruso Cabrera, and a large number of U.S.-based executives doing business with Latin American colleagues.
When she is neither teaching nor painting, Andrea is usually listening to classical music, going to museums or, weather permitting, taking hikes in nature and bird watching. She loves animals and is a passionate advocate for the conservation of our fragile natural habitats.
Please click here to learn more about Andrea’s art.
Glenn Glazier
For nearly 30 years, Glenn Glazier has worked with students as a classroom teacher and private tutor. His areas of expertise include elementary, junior high, high school, and college Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Statistics, with mastery in standardized test preparation. Glenn has helped hundreds of students to prepare for the ACT, ISEE, SSAT, PSAT, SAT I & II, LSAT, and GRE.
Glenn began his teaching career in 1982 at a private boarding school in Connecticut, working as the school’s Math/Physics tutor before joining the faculty in 1986. There, he instructed Math, AP Physics, and SAT preparation. He also coached cross-country & track, headed dormitories, and served as Dean of Boys to an International Summer School. Following his teaching post in Connecticut, Glenn relocated to New York where he taught Mathematics at an independent day school. In 1995, Glenn launched his private practice and has continued to tutor full time.
As part of tutoring in math and the sciences, Glenn specializes in helping learners of all ability levels to see the logic behind these disciplines. Glenn works to carefully build conceptual understanding so that all levels of math and science become intuitive and not just memorization.
When he is not teaching, Glenn is an avid cyclist and a student of the martial arts.
Amy Shapiro
Amy Shapiro brings her expertise to My Learning Springboard as a Reading Specialist with a focus on systematic, explicit, and multisensory methods that follow an Orton-Gillingham sequence with integrated opportunities for comprehension work (verbal and written), spelling and word work, and handwriting instruction.
Amy is a National Board Certified Teacher with more than 35 years in the field of education as a classroom teacher, school leader, reading specialist/interventionist, instructional coach, and educational consultant. She received her National Board Certification in the Fall of 2010 and 2018 (renewal) and joins an elite group of teachers who meet the National Board’s rigorous standards; only about 3% of the nation’s teaching force has achieved this recognition of excellence.
Amy specializes in literacy instruction at the early childhood and elementary levels. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Maryland and later completed a Graduate Certification Program in Professional Teaching Standards at George Washington University as well as a Reading Specialist Certification. Committed to her own professional development, Amy has completed numerous advanced certifications in reading instruction that are based on the “Science of Reading” and are endorsed by the International Dyslexia Association such as Orton Gillngham, Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading & Spelling Vol 1 & 2 (Lexia), and Really Great Reading. Each of these programs follows an I do, we do, you do interactive approach to learning to read.
Amy is astute at determining each student’s learning needs and differentiating her approach to support or enrich an individual learner. An ardent follower and graduate of Jonathan Saphier’s The Skillful Teacher, Research for Better Teaching, Amy uses a broad repertoire of teaching strategies to create a learning environment where students feel comfortable taking risks and obstacles to learning are overcome. She has successfully worked with students who have a variety of physical and learning disabilities including dyslexia, speech and language disorders, sensory integration disorder, ADHD, and autism. Amy believes in the collaborative learning process and builds strong partnerships with families and students.
Using the “Science of Reading Research” Amy takes a structured literacy approach to her reading instruction. She understands the importance of explicit and systematic reading instruction that embeds multi- sensory techniques, student interaction, continuous feedback, and opportunities to retrieve previous learned skills. During each instructional setting, students have opportunities to develop and practice phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, writing, and comprehension. Through her targeted planning and direct instruction, Amy ensures that her students are advancing their reading skills.
In her spare time, Amy enjoys traveling, gardening, cooking, cycling, and the performing arts.
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