All Articles tagged Teacher

Szasha Ozard

September 12, 2020

As a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University, Szasha Ozard draws on years of experience as a historian, Peace Corps volunteer, youth empowerment coach, certified Social Studies teacher, and research advisor to build confidence in her students and empower them to reach personal and academic success through private tutoring. She is passionate about bringing history alive by engaging with student interests and life experiences as a bridge to allow learners to draw meaningful connections between the past, themselves, and the modern world. Szasha works to help her students understand the events of the past and to achieve mastery of historical thinking and analytical writing skills. This allows learners to not only engage in the authentic work of historians and conduct successful research but to grow in their capacity as analytical global citizens.

Szasha Ozard holds a Master’s degree in the teaching of Social Studies from Teachers College, Columbia University and currently teaches 9th and 10th grade Global History as well as a 12th grade independent research seminar within the New York City Department of Education. She has taught in fully inclusive ICT special education classroom settings, differentiating instruction to meet the diverse needs of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), as well as in general education and advanced placement classrooms. She has vast experience preparing students to excel on the NYS Regents Exam in Global History and Geography as well as providing enrichment for advanced learners. Szasha guides 12th graders through a college level independent history research and writing seminar culminating in a final paper and school-wide presentation. Students are given the opportunity to respond to rigorous questions in defense of their research, modeling the process of researching, writing, and defending a history thesis at a college level.

As a 9th-12th grade advisor, Szasha Ozard also provides individualized socio-emotional and academic support. These supports include: coaching in study and organizational skills, assistance with strategies to improve executive functioning, and health and wellness check-ins focused on stress management and youth advocacy. She builds these same supports into her tutoring sessions.

Before becoming a Social Studies teacher, Szasha Ozard earned her B.A. in History from the University of California, Berkeley, where she developed her passion for research — a passion she now works to foster in her students. After graduating, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English as a Foreign Language in the African nations of both Cape Verde and Mozambique. During her Peace Corps service, Szasha realized her calling for not only teaching, but youth empowerment. She brings both her global perspective and dedication to individual youth capacity building into her current teaching and tutoring practice.

In her free time, Szasha enjoys running, traveling, and working in her backyard organic vegetable garden. She has run several marathons and has trekked to both the base camp of Mount Everest and the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. At home, Szasha spends as much time as possible training her exuberant Australian Shepherd puppy who is always eager to learn new tricks!

Erin Sauchelli

September 8, 2020

Erin Sauchelli is a graduate of Lafayette College and New York University. She draws on experience from her career in media, as well as experience teaching different subjects and different age levels, to help support students in language and literacy development. She holds a BA in International Affairs and Spanish, and a dual MA in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language and Teaching English as a Second Language. She graduated from NYU with honors and has maintained a relationship with the university, hosting and mentoring student teachers from their education training programs and also continuing to take classes to better her practice.

Erin loves to travel and spent several semesters abroad during her undergraduate and graduate careers. She spent the most time in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she did an exchange program at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. Her fluency in Spanish allows her to communicate and develop relationships with her Spanish-speaking students. She has experience teaching Spanish as a foreign language to K-8 students; being a language learner herself, she wants language learning to be fun, cultural and interactive and can help students who may be struggling with the conventions of the language.

She is currently working as an English as a New Language teacher to elementary age children. She has experience supporting children in literacy, phonics and bridging language development with content area instruction. Erin Sauchelli is well versed in phonics instruction, specifically Wilson Fundations and Letterland. She believes in strong phonemic awareness as a foundation for reading as well as writing. She can support struggling readers and writers by diagnosing their areas of weakness and creating individualized teaching points to help them move forward. She also has experience in content areas such as mathematics, science and social studies, and loves to bridge the concrete to the theoretical with manipulatives in math instruction. She has worked with students of all skill and proficiency levels, and also students with special needs, such as those with ADD/ADHD, autism and dyslexia.

Before becoming a teacher, Erin had a career in advertising and marketing for large media and publishing companies, such as ABC and Hearst Magazines. She managed client relations and large-scale advertising partnerships for television shows and magazines. She brings her professional experience to her teaching, applying her project management and organizational skills to her teaching role.

When Erin is not teaching, she enjoys cooking, spending time outdoors, whether on the golf course or ski slopes, and most of all, being with her dog – who may make an appearance during a virtual tutoring session!

Bobby Irven

September 7, 2020

Bobby Irven is a private tutor who specializes in Mandarin Chinese, ESL, the humanities, virtual learning, research and special education. He is also proficient in a variety of digital design and communications software, as well as recently leveraging online and application based tools to collaborate, learn and communicate. He has traveled and worked around the world, and currently works at a large international nonprofit doing communications for the poverty eradication team. He has over a decade of experience working with students of all ages in small classroom settings and private tutoring.

Bobby Irven earned his B.A. in Chinese Studies and Political Science at Rutgers University, and then continued his education, receiving an M.A. in International Development from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, and conducted his thesis research in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

He is passionate about bringing a unique teaching style to each student interaction in order to ensure no one is left behind, and has worked with a wide variety of students, from recently arrived refugees to children with special needs. Bobby Irven loves combining new or alternative resources to complement traditional methods. This includes sessions or a focus on executive functioning: ensuring students are using the tools, technology and resources available to succeed in and out of the classroom.

When he is not traveling around the world to various work field sites or helping his students, Bobby enjoys playing competitive volleyball, advocating for social justice, scuba diving, and learning new languages and cultures. You might even catch him in a dance class or two!

Dan Muro

September 7, 2020

Dan Muro is a private tutor who specializes in social studies, language arts, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Dan grew up in New Jersey, where he attended The Pingry School from kindergarten through 12th grade. In High School, he was an honor roll student and frequent discussion leader in class, particularly in his favorite subjects: biology, English, Spanish, and political science. Outside of the classroom, Dan was a competitive swimmer and a founding member of the Coffeehouse Society, which organized open-mic nights for the school’s student artists. He also worked as a camp counselor at the Montclair Yard School of Art’s summer camp.

After graduating from Pingry, Dan Muro attended Wesleyan University, where he earned his B.A. in anthropology. A native speaker of Portuguese, Dan had the opportunity to share his love of Brazilian culture and language as a course assistant for beginner and intermediate Portuguese, facilitating group tutoring sessions and providing individually tailored support to students. He also worked as a woodshop monitor, teaching student artists how to properly and safely operate heavy machinery and tools. His sophomore year, Dan designed his own study abroad program in São Paulo, Brazil, where he conducted ethnographic and archival research with an architecture office supporting community-led housing initiatives and design processes.

Dan Muro currently works as a writer and consultant for cultural institutions, such as The Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University, Philadelphia Contemporary, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum. As one of the founding team members of DVDL Design Decisions, a boutique consultancy, Dan assisted in the design of new education, curatorial, and space design strategies for world-class museums.

Dan draws on his patience, listening skills, and love of learning, as well as his real-world problem-solving experience, to meet each student where they are. He offers support tailored to each student’s needs on test-taking strategies, reading comprehension and analysis, integrating new concepts into their intellectual toolkit, and problem-solving tactics across subjects.

When he is not teaching or tutoring, Dan can be found reading poetry and old urban planning documents, writing songs with friends, or enjoying the outdoors.

Lana Bunning

August 31, 2020

Lana Bunning is a lifelong learner and has a passion for sharing her love of education with her students. After earning a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in Education from the University at Albany, she began her career with the New York City Department of Education. She has been a public school teacher for over eight years where she has taught math, science, and many other enrichment courses. She proudly holds the title of Model Teacher because of her skill and expertise of best instructional practices and student achievement growth. Lana has also worked as a private tutor for several years with students from kindergarten through high school. Her experiences have ranged from supporting students with academic coaching, test preparation, and executive functioning.

Lana Bunning is thoughtful when designing curriculum and supports for students, ensuring that the instruction is engaging, rigorous, and accessible for all learners. She is able to plan and execute her lessons in this way due to her ability to build a strong rapport with her students. Lana takes the time to get to know each of her students’ strengths and areas of growth, building trust and taking the time to get to know their hobbies and interests outside of the classroom. For these reasons, Lana is a lead teacher on her school’s Instructional Leadership and Equity Teams as well as District 13’s Math Leadership Group.

Lana’s experience educating students has not stopped at the classroom. She has privately tutored students of all ages attending NYC private and public schools, including The Dalton School, Horace Mann, Stuyvesant High School, and The Summit School. She skillfully differentiates instruction for all of her learners, including students with more complex neurocognitive profiles. Her tutoring work integrates monitoring and enhancing students’ executive functioning capacities and skills. She loves working one-on-one and in small groups with students because that is where she can have the most impact.

Lana Bunning is always working towards furthering her own learning in order to engage students at the highest levels. She participated in Honeywell Educators at Space Academy in 2016 where she participated in traditional Space Camp activities such as engineering design challenges, mock flight and space missions, rocket construction and launches with teachers from around the world. Sometimes you can still find her in her blue flight suit! She partnered with University of Washington Burke Museum paleontologists in 2017 to conduct field research on an active site, digging up 66 million year old fossils with teachers and researchers. In 2018, she explored Yellowstone National Park while engaging in STEAM projects to implement into the classroom with her students. She is always learning new ways to reach her students and spark their natural curiosity.

In her free time, Lana loves riding her Peloton and biking outside, snowboarding in the winter months, enjoying the beach waves in the summer, collecting and listening to vinyl records, and sharing meals with friends and family.

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