Social Studies Archives

Mike Goldfarb

Growing up, Mike Goldfarb cherished his opportunities to learn from a number of life-changing teachers, camp counselors, sports coaches, and other role models. These individuals supported, challenged, motivated, and inspired him to take risks and work hard in order to achieve academic and extracurricular goals.

With these role models in mind, Mike knew he wanted to go into a career in education so that he could make a positive difference in the lives of others.

An experienced classroom teacher, school administrator, private tutor, and athletics coach, Mike Goldfarb leverages the strong connections and relationships he develops with students to help them achieve a wide variety of goals and objectives.

He enjoys using a personalized approach with students of all ages so that they can improve their reading, writing, and performance on standardized tests.

Mike Goldfarb graduated with a degree in English from Washington University in St. Louis. He also has Master’s degrees in teaching from Johns Hopkins University and school leadership from The Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Mike started his teaching career in the Teach for America program as a middle school English teacher in Baltimore City, MD. He later served as a middle school English teacher and administrator at St. Paul’s School, an elite independent school outside Baltimore, MD. Mike also served as a principal intern at an elementary school in Boston, MA while receiving his school administration certificate from The Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Currently, Mike Goldfarb serves as an adjunct instructor at The Johns Hopkins School of Education where he helps new classroom teachers develop their practice in areas such as secondary English teaching methods; culturally responsive teaching; and child development.

Additionally, Mike has over 10 years of experience as a high-level athletics coach with several of his past players going on to play at the college level in soccer, basketball, and baseball.

In his free time, Mike enjoys reading, writing, trying new recipes, and exercising. As passionate baseball fans, Mike and his wife Noemi also enjoy traveling and visiting baseball stadiums across the country.

Sam Kleinman

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.

Jackie Yang

Jackie Yang is a medical student at NYU Langone School of Medicine. She has completed three years of her program and is currently taking a research year. She graduated with honors and Phi Beta Kappa recognition from the University of Miami, where she pursued neuroscience and English as her major fields of study on a near full-tuition merit scholarship. She also holds minors in chemistry and history.

Jackie has had over seven years of private tutoring experience in a variety of school subjects and SAT test preparation. She started as an after-school tutor working with high school students through Starting Right Now, a nonprofit in her hometown of Tampa, Florida. There, she helped students with class work, organization and study skills, and test-taking in their courses. She worked with a range of skill sets, from high-achieving AP test-takers to students who needed help maintaining on-grade level reading, writing, and math skills. She also had some experience working with very early learners through a summer program for students identified as needing additional reading help before entering kindergarten. From learning phonics to analyzing Shakespeare, Jackie found that, even with the most challenging students, developing a rapport and teaching approach tailored to each students’ strengths and weaknesses greatly increased the students’ enthusiasm for the subject and their sense of ownership of their ultimate goal.

As a 99th-percentile scorer on the SAT, Jackie has also tutored one-on-one during the summer for the CollegeBoard’s SAT and SAT subject tests as well as Advanced Placement (AP) exams. A high-achieving math and English test-taker, Jackie has helped students improve on the hard skills, knowledge, and softer test-taking approaches that lead to success in all sections. In particular, Jackie enjoys helping students improve on the Critical Reading section, which many students find the most puzzling. She believes in taking an approach that reduces what appear to be vague questions with subjective answers to straightforward problems that can be systematically broken down and checked against the text. This, she has found, gives students more confidence and higher accuracy in their responses.

Her success with the SAT is mirrored by her experience with other standardized tests; Jackie scored in the 99th percentile on her MCAT (medical school admissions exam), was a National AP Scholar scoring high on challenging subjects that included Calculus BC, Statistics, and European History, and has also worked for the test-preparation company Examkrackers to develop books and practice exams.

During college, Jackie was also a TA for the school’s large introductory biology course, leading weekly small groups with a group of around 20 students. She considers her life sciences background another strength for students who need additional assistance in general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and other life sciences. While in school, Jackie was also active through her English major as an editor of her school newspaper, The Miami Hurricane, for three years and the editor-in-chief of the school’s literary journal, Mangrove. Jackie credits these experiences with giving her not only hundreds of hours of experience in editing and writing, but also in developing meaningful mentorships with her writers. She is passionate about her own writing and helping others communicate their own thoughts in precise and compelling ways.

More than anything, Jackie hopes to get her students excited about their learning, become more self-aware about their own habits, and empowering them to take ownership and pride in their progress.

Brad Hoffman

Brad Hoffman, CEO and Founder of My Learning Springboard, has always loved working with students and their families. He believes in the power of collaboration and advocates for a holistic, 360-degree view of education.

Professional Associations

Brad Hoffman is a Board Certified Educational Planner (AICEP) and Professional Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) with specialty designations in mainstream day and boarding schools, specialized schools for students with learning disabilities, and therapeutic placements, including therapeutic boarding schools, residential treatment centers, and wilderness programs. He is also a member of The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS), the Small Boarding School Association (SBSA), The Enrollment Management Association (formerly SSATB), the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP), the Association of Educational Therapists (AET), the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA), and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).

Brad Hoffman’s Teaching Background

Over the past 25 years, Brad Hoffman has worked with students from pre-kindergarten through Fortune 500 executives as a classroom teacher, tutor, curriculum writer, human resources talent development specialist, and educational consultant. Brad graduated magna cum laude from Penn State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and then received a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction at Hood College in Maryland graduating with honors. He is also an Elementary Math and Science Specialist and holds an Advanced Professional Teaching Certificate from the state of Maryland. Brad is trained in PAF Reading Intervention, an Orton-Gillingham based approach, Sounds In Motion, Read Naturally, Singapore Math, Everyday Math, and a variety of other programs and curriculum standards. In 2014, Brad was honored with the prestigious Penn State Alumni Achievement Award in honor of his significant contributions to the field of education.

During his undergraduate career, Brad Hoffman was an Assistant Teacher at Penn State’s Bennett Family Center (formerly called the Penn State Child Care Center) during all four years of college. He worked with children ages birth through 5 and participated in the center’s accreditation process with NAEYC. During his senior year of college, Brad was a Teacher Intern in England while studying at University of Chichester. There he taught a Year 2 class (ages 6/7) at an Infant School in all areas of the curriculum, including literacy, numeracy, technology, science, religion, history, PE, and Art. Upon graduation, Brad accepted a full-time lead teaching position in Frederick County, Maryland in a fully inclusive public school setting located in a rural part of the county. Children with both learning differences and physical disabilities were fully integrated in the regular classroom. One-third of Brad’s students had dyslexia and received specialized intervention, and two of his students were children with autism.

“While it was really challenging, I learned so much about how to differentiate classroom instruction for all types of learners, which is critical for any productive learning to occur.”

Brad played an integral part in facilitating his students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEP), a documented plan to help meet the unique needs of an individual learner with a learning disability. This assistance often required a team of related services experts to meet, ranging from the speech language specialist and school psychologist, to the parents, principal, and teacher(s). Working collaboratively always led to increased professionalism and greater student success.

In 2001, Brad relocated to Bethesda, Maryland to pursue a teaching position with Montgomery County Public Schools, one of the leading public school systems in the United States. He taught first and fourth grades at Somerset Elementary School in Chevy Chase, Maryland for five years, differentiating instruction for students at, below, or above grade level in addition to working with students identified as gifted and talented. Somerset is an internationally diverse community and one of the highest ranked elementary schools in Maryland; it is also a model Inclusion Program school. During this time, Brad earned his Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and partnered with the Somerset Educational Foundation, school faculty, and the school counselor to develop K-5 Service Learning curricula. Brad presented his curriculum work at both the county and state departments of education and was named a Maryland Service-Learning Fellow.

Brad Hoffman’s Corporate Background

In 2006, Brad Hoffman moved to New York City to start his second career in Human Resources with Time Inc., a Fortune 100 Media Company. As an educator, Brad brought a unique perspective to Corporate America and focused on Talent Development. He worked with clients across locations, divisions, and countries – over 5,000 employees – to design and implement customized learning solutions and strategic recruiting efforts to attract, develop, and retain talented employees. Brad also designed and managed summer internship programs for college and MBA students interested in media, general management, finance, and marketing career paths. These programs were designed as 10-week projects so that management could assess intern performance on authentic, thoughtful, and substantive tasks, while interns were also able to assess the company as a good fit for starting their careers.

In 2009, Brad and his wife, Faya Hoffman, launched My Learning Springboard to help families construct and manage private teams of experts focused on educational consultation, which includes admissions consulting, academic support, enrichment teaching, strategic test preparation, professional development, teacher mentorship, and curriculum development. In 2011, Brad left Corporate America to further expand My Learning Springboard in New York City and Washington, D.C. as well as Palm Beach County, Florida.

Brad Hoffman’s LinkedIn profile

Brad Hoffman

My Learning Springboard, Inc.

CEO and Board Certified Educational Planner

A multidisciplinary educational consulting firm specializing in school planning, academic tutoring, and test preparation.

Upper West Side

New York,NY

10024

brad@mylearningspringboard.com

Phone: +1 (646) 580-9794

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Alex Jacobs

Alex Jacobs is a private tutor who specializes in history, elementary math and language arts.

Alex was born and raised in Manhattan where he attended the Horace Mann School from Kindergarten through twelfth grade. While in High School, he tutored elementary school students both privately and through school-run programs. His experience at a rigorous New York preparatory school has given him insight into the unique challenges and pressures that students in that world face.

Alex then attended Oberlin College, where he earned his B.A. in Sociology. During college, he continued to educate elementary and middle school students, first as an assistant teacher at The Grace Church School’s summer program and later as a math and literacy tutor at Goddard Riverside Community’s Star Learning Center.

Alex is now a professional musician and music writer. His music has been covered by SPIN and Interview Magazine and his writing has been featured in the Huffington Post. He also teaches established producers and composers how to use the latest audio production software and gives lessons in percussion and digital synthesis to musicians of all ages. Most recently, Alex has led workshops for 3rd – 7th grade students in environmental education, music and nutrition for Arts in Parts, a nonprofit after-school and summer program in Far Rockaway.

Whether helping young readers navigate their first novel or coaching graduate school hopefuls through their applications and admissions tests, Alex’s spirited demeanor makes seemingly mundane work fun and fulfilling for learners at every level. In his 13 years as a tutor and educator, Alex has helped students excel in a broad range of subjects, including literacy, writing, mathematics, geography, history and the study of religion.

When he is not teaching or tutoring, Alex can be found collecting antique maps, building musical instruments or conducting ad hoc trivia competitions among friends.

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