Hello, my name is Michael, and I am currently in my 7th year of teaching. I graduated from Manhattanville College with an undergraduate degree in Literature and a Masters in Education. I am currently certified to teach ELA 6-12 and Special ED (which includes every subject) 7-12. During my first year of teaching, I was a general education 6th grade ELA teacher in the Bronx, NY. I then worked as a Special Education ELA teacher in a Westchester high school, teaching grades 9-12 ELA. During that time, I taught numerous students with various diagnoses, such as ADHD, dyslexia, emotional distance, etc. However, the bulk of my teaching experience has been working with students who are on the autism spectrum and who also have other reading impairments. I am currently teaching in a different Westchester school, as a middle and high school Special Education ELA and resource room teacher.

My specialty is educating students with special needs in ELA. I believe that forming bonds built on respect and trust is one of the most important steps in educating any student, but especially those with special needs. My educational approach involves intensely scaffolding complex topics into more manageable, developmentally appropriate, pieces. Moreover, I like to utilize topics of interest to the students in my lessons to help foster engagement and enhance their understanding of a new topic by utilizing materials that they are already familiar with. I believe that all students should feel smart and capable. I try to foster moments of success with my students while also helping them to build resilience to cope with hardships. My years of working primarily with students on the autism spectrum have given me excellent experience blending social/emotional goals and content with the ELA curriculum. As such, I believe in educating the whole students and helping them make social, as well as academic gains.