Leslie

Certified Tutor

I received my undergraduate degree from Florida International University with a degree in Hospitality Management. I worked in the private sector for several years and became interested in education after my first child was born and we discovered he had a disability. As I researched disabilities and ways to help my child understand the curriculum, I discovered that I could help other children and I pursued a M.Ed, in Special Education. I graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with my M.Ed. in Special Education (General Curriculum) and was hired as an Autism teacher at the school where I completed my student teaching. I am now in my third year of teaching were I have worked with a variety of disabilities. My philosophy of teaching is simple. A classroom is not a "cookie cutter classroom", where one size fits all. As a special educator I must adapt the curriculum to each student, taking into account the diverse population of a 21st century classroom. I do this first by getting to know my students as individuals, taking into account their backgrounds, interests, goals, academic strengths, personal needs, and abilities where I can then focus on how they can best access the curriculum. I enjoy working with all subjects in the elementary curriculum however I am drawn to Math and Language Arts where I can employ research-based strategies that incorporate multiple means of representation that best fit the individual needs of the learner. Some of these strategies include a multi-sensory approach to students who struggle with reading and developing number sense for younger students in math. My personal interests outside of teaching are reading, hiking, and cooking.