Elementary Math and Essay Writing tutor

About Derek

I am certified in Childhood Education and Students with Disabilities Grades 1-6 as well as Early Childhood Education and Students with Disabilities Birth-Grade 2 from Manhattanville College. I am certified as a School Building Leader and School District Leader.
I believe in educating the whole child to appropriately meet student’s needs. My educational philosophy has propelled me to acquire imperative teaching and administrative experiences. Currently, I am a 4th grade teacher in New York City. I have experience teaching Go Math, Ready Gen, the Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project, Lit Life, enVision Math, and the Engage NY ELA and Math modules. In my experiences as a 3rd and 4th grade consultant teacher and a 2nd and 3rd grade special class teacher, I worked collaboratively with general education teachers to support student’s needs. Furthermore, I have extensive literacy experience as I have used a variety of instructional materials including Core Knowledge Language Arts, Preventing Academic Failure, Reading A-Z, Read Works, Wilson, Fundations, as well as Edmark for supplemental ELA intervention. Additionally, I integrate Lexia, I-Ready, and Achieve 3,000 into my daily small group and individualized classroom instruction.
Prior to these experiences, I taught 3rd-5th grade students in an 8:1:2 self-contained behavior management classroom. With this challenging population, I was able to target academic, social, and behavioral needs while successfully differentiating the curriculum using individual and class-wide behavior improvement plans, token economy systems, behavior checklists and contracts, and behavior report cards. These strategies were particularly effective at diverting potentially harmful situations. In fact, this experience helped me become the point contact teacher when the Principal was not present and if there was a student crisis in the school. I also served as a CPSE and CSE representative for four years. Therefore, I have a strong understanding of IDEA, 504 accommodations, and Part 200 regulations. This experience enabled me to communicate effectively with parents when determining the appropriate educational services for their child.