All Articles tagged Teacher

Dorothy Nguyen

August 14, 2015

Dorothy Nguyen graduated from Rutgers University pre-med with a degree in American Studies and a minor in Music. She has been tutoring students and peers since her freshman year of high school—peer tutoring ESL high school students in a wide range of subjects and classical piano training for students in all ages. Now, the subjects she primarily tutors include high school chemistry, biology, and math, including Algebra, Algebra II, Geometry, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus. Dorothy also tutors elementary and middle school math topics. In addition to core academic math and science, she also tutors math and science for standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, CTP, SHSAT, TACHS, Hunter Entrance Exam, and AP Biology.

In addition to her academic coaching and test preparation work, Dorothy is an experienced executive function coach. She has helped children with attentional challenges and other learning disabilities to become more effective with study and organizational skills, including time management. She helps students work on their memory to retain information, mental flexibility to sustain concentration and reduce shifts in attention, and self-control so that they get in the habit of prioritizing their work and monitoring their own progress.

Dorothy’s teaching style is focused on connecting with students and making sure that they not only understand the material but also find the topics interesting. Dorothy believes that there are many equally valid ways to teach a student, and she tailors her lessons to the specific needs of each student. She encourages students to use outside resources to garner interest and deeper understanding of various subjects.

Dorothy is a comedian and writer. She has won multiple screenwriting contests with a half-hour comedy, a one-hour drama, and a dramedy short. When she’s not making people laugh, she can be caught listening to her favorite comedy/science podcasts.

Daphne Muller

August 6, 2015

Daphne Muller is a Private Tutor and professional writer specializing in writing coaching, academic enrichment, and test preparation, including ACT, SAT, ISEE, NY State test preparation, and SHSAT. She enjoys working with children of all ages and hones her pedagogical approach to each child’s specific needs. She believes in giving children the tools to take ownership of their education so that they can become self-sufficient, empowered learners.

Daphne is a writer who has written articles for Salon, The Huffington Post, ELLE online, Big Think, Ms. Magazine, and other publications. She holds an honors B.A. degree in English Literature from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a Master’s degree in Religion and Literature from Yale University.

In addition to tutoring and writing, she also works with private clients to develop corporate marketing kits, web content, and professional development materials. Currently, Daphne is publishing a novel, producing a short film, and optioning a screenplay.

Nicole DeMartino

July 20, 2015

Nicole DeMartino wanted to become a teacher since she was a child and gets to live out her dreams every day as a classroom teacher at PS 172 in Brooklyn, a model inclusion school, where she joined the faculty in 2013. In additional to her full time work with the NYC DOE, Nicole is also a part-time Director and Curriculum and Instruction Specialist with My Learning Springboard. She previously taught at the Parkside School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She received her B.A. at the University of Miami in 2009, with a double major in elementary education and Spanish language, and continued her education at NYU, earning her Master’s degree in Childhood Special Education.

Nicole DeMartino has experience teaching and tutoring a diverse group of students from many backgrounds and with varying abilities. In Miami, she completed her student teaching experience in a 2nd grade general education classroom and assumed all roles and responsibilities of the classroom teacher. While studying at NYU, Nicole did her student teaching in a 1st grade CTT classroom at P.S. 261 in Brooklyn and in a 5th grade self-contained classroom at The Parkside School on the Upper West Side. After developing a strong, positive relationship with Parkside, Nicole was offered a full-time teaching position as a 2nd grade teacher. She believes that all students learn differently and, therefore, she uses a variety of materials, methodologies, and targeted support to differentiate her instruction.

In her free time, Nicole enjoys traveling, reading, cooking, seeing movies, and spending time with family and friends in NYC and on Long Island.

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.

Rachel Hirshan

July 10, 2015

Rachel completed her undergraduate degree from University at Buffalo in speech language pathology. She then earned her Master’s at CW Post in General and Special Education, Grades 1-6, with a concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorders. She also has a certification in Applied Behavior Analysis and several years of direct instructional experience. Her love and passion for teaching children has been prevalent since she was young.

Rachel is currently working at IS125Q, the Woodside Intermediate School, in Queens, teaching 6th grade self-contained math, science, and social studies. Many of her students enter 6th grade performing below grade level expectations in math, reading, and writing, and it’s Rachel’s job to close the gap and scaffold instruction so that each student succeeds. Rachel previously taught a private school on the Upper East Side as a Learning Specialist, where her students ranged from second to eighth grade.

While being a highly adaptive and versatile educator, she has enjoyed the opportunity to teach a diverse group of children including those with Autism Spectrum Disorder, speech impairments, noncompliant behavior, learning disabilities, physical challenges as well as typical children. These experiences have helped her blossom into a well-rounded and compassionate individual, private tutor, and educator, who takes each student’s unique goals, interests, and needs into account and creates effective lesson plans and activities to accommodate and motivate them to grasp and maintain their attention. She always makes sure that each child receives individualized praise and encouragement insuring that he/she remains motivated and does not become frustrated or quit. Rachel has expertise in a variety of instructional programs and interventions, including Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Fundations, PAF, and Boost as well as Handwriting Without Tears, Judith Hochman’s Teaching Basic Writing Skills, Words Their Way, GoMath, and Everyday Math. Rachel is also experienced with Kindergarten Readiness coaching, including ECAA and AABL preparation, as well as NY State test preparation.

When not teaching, Rachel enjoys going on vacation (especially to tropical islands when it’s cold in New York), cooking, babysitting and spending time with friends.

All Articles tagged Teacher

Dorothy Nguyen

Daphne Muller

Laurie Gross

Laurie Gross’s School Leadership Background

Rachel Hirshan

Company Overview

School Planning

Private Tutoring

Test Preparation