Kindergarten Archives

Laurie Gross

July 20, 2015

Laurie Gross brings her expertise to My Learning Springboard as an Educational Consultant and Family Advocate, Reading Specialist, and Instructional Coach for families and schools in the New York City and Washington, DC metropolitan areas. Laurie is also a Professional Member of the Washington Independent Services for Educational Resources (WISER) and an adjunct professor at George Washington University, where she works with graduate teacher interns in a supervisory and mentorship role.

Laurie Gross’s School Leadership Background

Laurie is a highly experienced educator and school consultant with more than 40 years of experience in the Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) system and beyond. 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 of her school system career 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 with regard to how best to deliver instruction to all students. Laurie has a special way of building trust with all stakeholders, and she views herself as a child advocate who places the needs of the child above all else. To that end, Laurie works collaboratively with families, schools, and private tutors to design differentiated educational programs for their student(s).

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 in 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 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.

Laura Cloher

May 29, 2015

Laura Cloher is a graduate of the University of Maryland where she received her undergraduate degree in Family Studies with a concentration in Early Childhood Education and her Master’s degree in Elementary Education. She teaches elementary school in Silver Spring, MD and privately tutors students at the elementary and middle school levels in the Washington, DC area.

Teaching is a passion for Laura and she strives to meet students’ goals, both academically and socially. Because her students’ success is important to her, she creates a learning atmosphere that respects and enhances each individual’s diverse personality and learning styles. Since each learner is unique, her teaching strategies are constantly changing to match her pupil’s speciﬁc needs. Laura does an amazing job of building solid educational relationships with all of her students. She has had experiences working with students PreK to fifth grade with various learning disabilities including ADD/ADHD, Autism, speech impairments, and students who are developmentally delayed. Laura is the 2012 Marian Greenblatt award winner for Scholarly Excellence and Commitment to Students with Diverse Needs in Montgomery County Public Schools.

Always aware of good health and ﬁtness, Laura established Girls On The Run (GOTR) at her school. In addition to her teaching, Laura is dedicated to running and has completed 17 marathons. She believes her training keeps her focused and motivated to continually try her best and excel at what she does. Laura takes this mentality into her teaching with the mantra “Never Give Up!”

In her spare time, Laura enjoys swimming, practicing yoga and reading.

Lauren Kelleher

December 16, 2014

As a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the American College of Education, Lauren Kelleher has had the unique experience of both teaching a variety of age groups and has field experience in the area of music and performing arts. She began her professional career as an opera singer, performing internationally in both American and European cities. While performing is a great passion of Lauren’s, she has found her calling in education. Through her role as an educator and private tutor, Lauren is able to share her love of music and performance with her students, while helping them discover their own artistic talents and interests.

Over the past five years, she has taught music and general education classes in both suburban and urban school districts. She taught kindergarten and first grade at the John F. Kennedy German American School in Berlin, Germany where her talents for immersion instruction, dual language methods and classroom management were fully utilized in an early childhood classroom. She also served as the music specialist for kindergarten to fourth graders. In an encouraging and nurturing environment, Lauren Kelleher instructs her students through an exploration of musical concepts and diverse genres by playing instruments, practicing movement, creating song, and always celebrating the learning through performance. She also believes that music should be fun, it should be engaging, and it should stimulate another part of the brain that can create connections to ideas made from other areas of the child’s learning.

Most recently, Lauren spent the year teaching integrated performing arts for the Middle Years Program at the Lincoln Community School in Accra, Ghana. Through this experience, she offered students an expanded experience in performing techniques in music, drama and movement. She taught students about the elements of music, dance and drama and facilitated opportunities for students to experience and create performances in different forms. Additionally, with passion, she directed the middle school musical Into the Woods, with a West African twist.

Lauren’s educational philosophy stems from a progressive, and hands-on approach to learning that develops the whole child through self-exploration, curiosity and wonderment. Throughout all of Lauren’s teaching experiences, she believes that at the core of her educational philosophy is a growth mindset, where every child can come to learn with a belief in themselves and the comfort of being vulnerable when exploring all aspects of education.

Jaime Mezon

August 21, 2014

Jaime Mezon is passionate educator and private tutor. Most recently, he was on faculty at The Elisabeth Morrow School as a first grade head teacher. Before that, Jaime was on faculty at Avenues in Chelsea where he was a teacher in a Spanish immersion section of kindergarten. Additionally, Jaime worked as an admissions consultant for Avenues. As an admission consultant, Jaime assessed a variety of incoming students through model lessons and hosted playgroups. He joined Avenues from P.S./I.S. 210, Twenty-First Century Academy for Community Leadership in Manhattan, where he worked as a teacher in a bilingual special education fifth grade classroom.

Prior to P.S./I.S. 210, Jaime Mezon was an assistant teacher, supporting classroom teachers in an inclusive special education kindergarten classroom at P.S. 029 in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. He facilitated the Kids Club after-school enrichment program, where he practiced motor skills with lower elementary students through arts and crafts and provided homework support to middle school students. Prior to this role, he provided language instruction to emergent bilingual Spanish-speaking students, and tutored K-6 students in various subjects through the Alianza Dominicana MOSAIC Beacon in the Bronx. Jaime creates an environment where children are motivated and confident in their abilities to perform above expectations. He is skilled in Fundations, Wilson’s reading system, Handwriting without Tears, TERC Investigations, GO Math, Math in Focus, Singapore Math and ReadyGEN.

Jaime Mezon received a B.A. in Economics from SUNY New Paltz and an M.S.Ed. in Bilingual Special Education from the City College of New York. He is fluent in both Spanish and English.

In his free time, Jaime enjoys reading, traveling, playing basketball, and spending time with family.

Eminesse Gonzalez

June 4, 2014

Eminesse Gonzalez is currently a Learning Specialist on faculty at The Spectrum School, working with Kindergarten and first grade students with autism spectrum disorder. Eminesse also teaches a 1st Grade class on Saturday mornings through the GO Project, providing extra support to students in public schools and teaching reading, writing, and math strategies that are aligned with the Common Core Standards. As a private tutor, she works with a wide range of learners in elementary and middle school. Eminesse received both her Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree from Pace University, with a combined focus in Elementary Education and Special Education.

Eminesse has provided instruction in an array of different environments, working with first, third and fourth grade students from diverse backgrounds. Her experiences have helped her to her fully understand that every child is unique and learns differently. In Valhalla, New York, Eminesse worked as a student teacher where she gained experience with differentiation in regards to literacy and math. In Manhattan, New York, Eminesse was welcomed into a new academic community where she gained her first experience teaching in an inclusion classroom. For a full academic year, she assisted students of different cultural, linguistic and economic backgrounds who, she is proud to say, demonstrated tremendous growth by the end of the year.

Eminesse exudes a genuine passion for teaching and learning. In 2013, she had the opportunity to present at the 9^th International Literacy Conference in Guatemala City, Guatemala. While visiting underprivileged schools in Guatemala, Eminesse had the opportunity to share interdisciplinary teaching methods with educators around from the world. Her main objective was to invite teachers to utilize more creative approaches in the hopes of enhancing literacy within all academic subjects. For Eminesse, visiting Guatemala City was an eye opening experience that reinforced the concepts of collaboration, differentiation, and being a reflective practitioner.

Eminesse currently resides in the Lower East Side area of Manhattan where she enjoys reading, trying new restaurants, and spending time with family and friends. This year she hopes to continue her love of traveling, which she attributes to her open-mindedness and love of learning.

Laurie Gross

Laurie Gross’s School Leadership Background

Laura Cloher

Jaime Mezon

Company Overview

School Planning

Private Tutoring

Test Preparation