I am very passionate about education because it enables me to positively transform the lives of others. I am a dependable, quality-focused teacher and curriculum planner with a consistent record of meeting and exceeding requirements. The pedagogical positions that I have held in the past have informed my worldview on education. I’ve had the great opportunity of teaching at all levels from elementary to college students and thus, gained insight into the unique educational and social needs of each individual cohort of students. As an educator, I've learned to better appreciate the wealth of knowledge that students bring to my classroom which will always be a place to share experience and knowledge.
My previous administrative position afforded me the opportunity to focus almost exclusively on developing and managing an education program. I've had to assess the academic levels of urban youth and then create a curriculum (Mathematics, English Language Arts and Writing) that would simultaneously meet the needs of the students while achieving the education goals set by the organization. While serving as a PRE-GED teacher at the CUNY Catch Program at Bronx Community College, I often had to function as career and academic counselor. Many of the students in the program did not have a clear career or academic path beyond their GED. I spent a significant amount of time conversing with my students about their future goals and aspirations. I deeply believe that mentoring and providing students with a confident view of future possibilities is a part of my role as an educator.
My experience as teacher has given me the opportunity to work with diverse groups of students hailing from varying linguistic, cultural, national, socioeconomic and academic backgrounds. I've spent many hours collecting data and tracking individual student progress. These direct insights allowed me to provide interventions that specifically targeted the needs of my students. In this process, I have become very familiar with the New York State curricula in all content areas, and especially in the subject areas of English, Science, Mathematics and Social Studies. Implementing a multi-disciplinary curriculum has proven fundamental to my students' success. In addition, collaborating with other teachers on a consistent basis has enhanced my content knowledge and helped me grow.
I have high standards and expectations of my students and strongly believe that I can help to direct their abilities to exceed our highest expectations. I have found that students are more likely to succeed when they have sufficient support systems, and I have focused my efforts on supporting students who struggle academically and socially. Many of the classes that I have taught have involved components of community building and social transformation.
My commitment to local involvement led me to serve as community service coordinator at Aspire Prep Middle School where I created and implemented service projects geared toward a population of more than six hundred students. I also worked with fundraising and liaising with other community organizations. I am especially proud of the progress I've made working with students struggling with low self-esteem and other traumatic issues who had the opportunity to participate in community service. Over time, I saw how my students’ sense of self and purpose improved as they became more involved in their community and in service projects.
I've always had a passion for helping to empower the disenfranchised and oppressed. Over the course of the past three years, my focus has been the empowerment of girls and adolescents at Aspire Middle School. Often, I have taken on the role of mentor to young women because I was mentored and nurtured as young girl and adolescent myself, and I truly know what a difference this can make. I created after-school programs that focused on honing leadership skills and building self-esteem. In the process of implementing these programs I've always taught that empowerment comes from within, so success for these girls means seeing themselves as survivors rather than victims.
I would welcome the opportunity to work with you. Thank you for your time and consideration.
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