Staff

I am a passionate educator with a vision to enlighten future leaders. Teaching math for me isn’t about getting the right answer or simply memorizing formulas, rather it is about understanding the concepts and relating it to the real world. Thus, I teach math through real life experiences to make learning meaningful and practical for students to implement during their discovery-based learning and in everyday life. While I do my best to bring purpose to learning, I also stress the importance of having the right attitude to learn. With the growth mindset approach, students are able to recognize that everything you don’t know is something you can learn. Math can be a challenging subject; however, every expert was once a beginner, and it is important to acknowledge the fact that the process of learning may not be easy, but it’ll eventually be worth it. Every lesson is designed with a positive attitude to bring purpose to all activities to be a driving force to students’ learning. I educate my students to be independent thinkers and persevere through every difficulty with a mindset to grow. Ultimately, the value in student growth is something that should be at the forefront of our motives and actions. Understanding that growth is a gradual process is essential in meeting the various needs of each individual student, thus, giving them the tools to think critically and develop into independent learners.

As a Special Education Teacher at MS118 and my sixth year working for the DOE, I have learned and grow so much as a professional. The experiences with students and working with amazing teachers during these sixth year are the main reason of my growth professionally and personally. I believe Education should be a lifelong activity, and every individual should have the opportunity to pursue a quality education. To that end, it is my personal mission to continually improve my own teaching, in order that my students have the opportunity to receive an educational experience that prepares them for their future and to allow them become self-sufficient learners.

    I believe that a classroom should be a safe, caring community where children are free to speak their mind and blossom and grow. During these challenging and unique times, I will use strategies to ensure our classroom community will flourish, instructing students on how to use inquiry and problem-solving skills, thus helping them to learn how to navigate the world we live in.

     Teaching is a process of learning from your students, colleagues, parents, and the community. This is a lifelong process where you learn new strategies, new ideas, and new philosophies. Over time, my educational philosophy has changed, and that’s okay. That just means that I have grown in my craft and learned new things.

As an art educator for many years I have encouraged art expression and creativity for all of my students. It has been extremely rewarding to teach a subject that I have loved all of my life. In the art classroom we use a use a variety of materials and learn about artists around the world. 

Art has the ability to enhance the well –being of individuals, society and the environment. At M.S 118 we strive to instill a life-long appreciation for the Arts

As a teacher my goal encourage mastery, competency, transformational learning, as well as encouraging lifelong learning. In my class I use case studies, group work, simulations, interactive lectures to expand my students learning. I offer many opportunities to demonstrate mastery. I believe that a classroom should be a safe, caring community where children are free to speak their mind and blossom and grow. Teaching is a process of learning from your students, colleagues, parents, and the community. This is a lifelong process where you learn new strategies, new ideas, and new philosophies.

I teach to strengthen the minds and resolve of our future generations. I am committed to the success of adolescents through self-discovery and independence. I aim to guide students to be free thinkers and outspoken citizens who will one day contribute to taking impactful actions in the world.

I teach because I enjoy teaching. Teaching gives me a purpose for waking up in the morning and keeping my brain occupied throughout the day. It affords me the opportunity to “pour” into my students’ lives and at the same time meet /interact with parents and colleagues. It also keeps me “young at heart”. For me, teaching is more than a job: it’s a vocation. 

My philosophy is that every student can learn. My role as an educator is to challenge them to maximize their potentials. However, I am conscious of the fact that my students’ potentials, interests and learning styles are as varied as their finger prints. This helps, though challenging at times, to meet them where they are and guide them in the direction they need to go. Education is more than academics and I endea

I am a Bilingual Educator here at MS 118 and have the privilege of working with the newest arrivals to our country.  My love of education is born of my experiences in our community and the world and for that reason I try to always bring the world into our classroom.

As a former Caseworker in preventative services, I realized that the focus of most of my cases was education. Family heads sought assistance to stabilize and monitor the academic progress of their children. My caseload included families at the brink of homelessness , individuals with mental health issues and women in shelters. There was a common thread that intensified with the arrival of each new case—in each situation, children were negatively impacted.

As I visited families, each client became more than just a name on a file—they all told stories, meaningful ones and the most popular theme was bettering themselves in order to strengthen their children.

Why do I teach? I teach because your stories matter. The healthy development of children matters. It is a great privilege to teach and a reward to know that perhaps, somewhere along the line, my words might echo in the background of a meaningful story.