Science (Elementary) Archives

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.

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.

Debbie Berebichez -Media Reel

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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.

Bruce Hrnjez

January 16, 2018

Bruce Hrnjez, PhD, is a physical organic chemist and private tutor. He tutors and mentors students at the middle school, high school, and college level, supporting course work, test preparation, research, science competitions, and independent study. He regularly works with students in New York City, as well as across the globe through e-learning platforms and collaborative tools.

Bruce was on the faculty at Collegiate School for six years. He taught organic chemistry, advanced chemistry, introductory chemistry, and introductory physics—courses that he either designed or redesigned. He was also the Science Olympiad head coach, varsity golf coach, upper school advisor, and research advisor for students working on independent study projects. Former organic chemistry students from Collegiate have found earning A’s in organic chemistry at universities such as Duke, Harvard, MIT, the University of Chicago, and Yale to be remarkably straightforward. Bruce spent a brief interlude teaching AP chemistry and introductory chemistry at Friends Seminary in 2019. He subsequently spent over a year at Basis Independent Brooklyn, where his mandate was to create the chemistry infrastructure, develop the advanced chemistry laboratory curriculum, and mentor young science faculty. He now performs quantum chemical calculations in collaboration with a physicist friend and colleague in their consulting work with chemical industry, and further devotes himself to tutoring students via zoom and in person.

Bruce Hrnjez did his graduate work at Johns Hopkins and spent most of his career conducting research and teaching at the college level. He was an associate professor of chemistry for nine years at Yeshiva University. At Harvard Medical School, he was an Instructor in surgery and a Research Fellow. Prior to his time at Harvard Medical School, Bruce was an assistant professor of chemistry for five years at North Dakota State University. He was a postdoctoral fellow in chemistry at the University of Chicago and at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was also a visiting professor. He has extensively published his research in peer-reviewed journals.

As an undergraduate student, Bruce spent three years doing research in the laboratory of Richard Heck, who went on to share the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Of course, Bruce didn’t realize at the time that he was contributing to Nobel Prize-winning work, and is pleased to have published his first scientific paper with the future Nobel laureate. He says that Richard Heck is the first to have taught him how to think like a scientist and largely inspired his approach to teaching.

Elizabeth Schiff

Deborah Berebichez

David Gomprecht

Marisa Krohn

Bruce Hrnjez

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