Science (Elementary) 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.

Deborah Berebichez

March 5, 2020

Deborah Berebichez is the first Mexican woman to graduate from Stanford University with a PhD in Physics, and she uses her education and background to make science approachable to a wide range of audiences. Debbie co-hosts Discovery Channel’s Outrageous Acts of Science TV show, where she uses her knowledge of physics to explain the science behind extraordinary engineering feats. She also appears as an expert on the Travel Channel, NOVA, CNN, FOX, MSNBC and numerous international media outlets.

Deborah is the Chief Data Scientist at Metis where she leads the creation and growth of exceptional data science training opportunities. Her responsibilities include ensuring the excellence of Metis’ data science bootcamps, corporate training, professional development as well as online programs. She is an active contributor to the national data science ecosystem through frequent public speaking and presentations on panels at data science conferences.

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Deborah Berebichez completed two postdoctoral fellowships at Columbia University’s Applied Math and Physics Department and at NYU’s Courant Institute for Mathematical Sciences where she carried out research in the area of acoustic waves. She invented a highly effective technique in the field of wireless communications whereby a cell phone user can communicate with a desired target user in a location far away.

Deborah’s work in science education and outreach has been recognized by the WSJ, Oprah, TED, DLD, WIRED, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and others. She has recently been recognized as an AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador for inspiring and empowering young women to learn science and to improve the state of STEM education in the world. She is a John C. Whitehead Fellow at the Foreign Policy Association, a winner of the Society of SHPE’s STAR Award and a recipient for Top Latina Tech Blogger by the Association of Latinos in Social Media LATISM.

Deborah has privately tutored and mentored students from middle school through college and can offer test preparation and coaching with the ISEE, SAT, ACT, SAT Subject Tests (Math, Physics, Spanish), AP Exams (Math, Physics, Spanish, Computer Science, Statistics) and GRE Physics. She can also help coach students at the college level in math and physics.

David Gomprecht

November 11, 2018

David Gomprecht, PhD, graduated from Wesleyan University, where he majored in mathematics and physics, and then went on to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley. After working as a research mathematician for a few years, David returned to his hometown of New York City, where he has now been a math specialist and private tutor for over twenty years. His work with students has spanned a wide range of ages from third grade through college.

In recent years, David has become increasingly interested in enrichment mathematics, at a variety of levels. At the competitive independent school where he works, he enjoys running the fifth and sixth grade math club and coaching the high school math team. David is also a long time instructor at the New York Math Circle, where he teaches the most advanced middle school class and the most advanced high school class. In addition, David very much enjoys creating math problems, and is proud to have had problems on the American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME) in both 2017 and 2018. In 2017 David also spoke at the Berkeley Math Circle about geometry, one of his favorite topics.

In addition to enrichment work, David has honed his craft over the last twenty plus years by teaching a broad variety of mathematics classes, including algebra, geometry, precalculus, calculus, multivariable calculus, and linear algebra. He has taught precalculus and geometry each year for the last twenty years, and is currently putting the finishing touches on a precalculus textbook that he has written. David also has been a student advisor and a grade dean, and he has been a member of curriculum committees at his school and at the Hunter College Elementary School. Additionally, with the support of the school where he teaches David has fostered relationships with math departments in India, China, and Turkey, and he has taught math classes in Delhi and Beijing.

When David isn’t teaching, he spends his time cooking dinner for his wife and three children, helping his kids with their homework, and pursuing his interests, which include reading, running, cooking, and playing the sitar.

Marisa Krohn

April 6, 2018

By all accounts, Marisa Krohn was born to be an educator. Regularly buried behind a book and eager to share her understanding of the world with others, she enthusiastically announced she would be a teacher on a questionnaire in first grade and never looked back. Marisa brings this same enthusiasm and spirit for learning to her everyday work as a teacher and private tutor.

Marisa Krohn’s lifelong ambition to be a teacher was realized when she attended New York University to pursue a degree in Early Childhood Education, Special Education, and Psychology. At NYU, Marisa had the opportunity to student teach in diverse settings, from private specialized schools for students with learning disabilities to self-contained classrooms for students with Autism. This broad ranging experience allowed Marisa, from early in her career, to pull from multiple resources and disciplines to serve her students in an individualized and thoughtful manner. She obtained her Masters of Arts at Teachers College in Reading Specialization, and served as a practicum supervisor after completion, advising graduate students on their instructional strategies and clinical decision-making. She most recently completed an advanced graduate degree, a Masters of Education in Leadership for Educational Change from Bank Street College of Education.

Currently a School Building Leader in District 1 in Lower Manhattan, Marisa supervises instructional staff, leads educational programming and develops curriculum. Before that, Marisa worked for nearly a decade at PS 234 in TriBeCa, where she served as the school’s Special Education Liaison. Her role encompassed teacher coaching and professional development in addition to serving as an inclusion teacher and a K-5 academic interventionist. Over the course of her career at PS 234, Marisa served in many roles and grade placements from Kindergarten to Fifth grade. Prior to joining New York City Public Schools, she worked as a preschool teacher in a private school and a preschool SEIT.

Marisa is a Reading Specialist and an experienced literacy and math interventionist. She is trained in Orton-Gilingham methodology, including PAF, Wilson Fundations, Sounds in Motion, and Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills. As a classroom teacher, Marisa incorporated explicit phonics instruction into her literacy instruction, equipping students with both the tools they needed to access text and develop a lifelong love of reading. Her writing intervention training includes the implementation of SRSD methodology. Additionally, Marisa is an experienced math teacher skilled at implementing TERC Investigations and Contexts for Learning curriculum.

Marisa has presented professionally on a range of topics, including literacy and inclusion, to diverse audiences, including the PEN conference and to graduate students at Teachers College.

In her spare time, Marisa enjoys traveling, lounging at the beach, and spending time at home with her puppy and young daughter.

Pamela Burns

Christie Alexander

Deborah Berebichez

David Gomprecht

Marisa Krohn

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