Brenda V.
Private tutor in New Haven, CT
Education
State of Connecticut Initial Educator Certificate September 2012 – September 2015 Elementary- Kindergarten through Grade 6 Southern Connecticut State University Hamden, CT Elementary Education Credentials in instructing Reading and Mathematics Fall 2011 New York University New York, NY New York, NY • Bachelor of Arts; Magna Cum Laude; GPA: 3.85/4.0 Graduated May 18, 2011 • Major: Latin American Studies; Minor: Africana Studies, Social Work • Awarded the Abu Baker Maiden Award for dedication and commitment in international community service. New York University in Ghana: Study focused on West African history, popular music, dance, and photography. Fall 2009 New York University in Buenos Aires: Spanish-immersion program on Argentine history, music, and tango literature. Fall 2008
Experience
Teach for America/ Truman K-8 School New Haven, CT Bilingual-Kindergarten Teacher August 2011 – Present Selected from 40,000 applicants to serve as a member of a highly selective national service corps of recent college graduates who commit two years to teach in under-resourced public schools and become leaders in the movement towards educational equity. • Evaluate Connecticut State’s pilot Reading Street curriculum as the K-1 Team Leader in the school and district; critically analyze program’s effectiveness based on teacher feedback, student responsiveness, and student academic progress. • Analyzed student data weekly to inform instruction, leading 25 students to achieve 94% mastery on math common core standards assessments in 2013 and 93% in 2012; and overall 1.3 years of growth in reading in 2013 and 1.1 years in 2012. • Developed and implemented rigorous literacy units aligned to the state’s newly adapted Common Core Standards, leading 84% of class to attain 1 to 1.8 years of reading growth (achieving a beginner to mid first grade reading level) in the end-of-year Spanish reading assessment in 2013 and 70% of class in 2012, resulting in a 60% increase in Kindergarten students reading on target or above since 2011. • Revised the English immersion program by creating differentiated small groups based on English language acquisition and Spanish reading level, leading 12 out of 25 students to achieve .8 to 2 years of growth in the end of the year English assessment in 2012 and 10 out of 25 students in 2013, scoring equivalent or higher than the mainstream English classroom students. • Partnered with the Trauma Center of New Haven to provide therapy to students with emotional needs from professional counselors and participate in the Miss Kendra program to inform students how to protect themselves from emotional abuse. • Strategized academic and behavior plans with students and parents to achieve academic and character goals, tracking progress on excel trackers, visual classroom trackers, and in monthly parent progress reports. • Created and led parent literacy workshops that provided parents with manageable reading strategies for students based on need. • Mentored a Southern Connecticut State University Masters student for 6 weeks, providing feedback on lesson planning, lesson execution, behavior management, parent investment strategies, and providing information on early childhood development. • Designed an after-school literacy intervention program in collaboration with Kindergarten Lead Teacher and Assistant Principal. • Created and led a literacy centers workshop for new teachers on organizing, managing, and purposefully planning for small group guided reading and independent literacy centers. Art for Global Justice Monjas, Guatemala; Accra, Ghana; New York, NY Co-Founder/Director of International Development/After-School Program Coordinator February 2010 – June 2011 • Developed and implemented the curriculum for four classes of fifty 5th grade students in Ghana for three weeks, one class of ten 6th grade students in Guatemala for two weeks, and one bilingual after-school program of 30 students for two years in New York. • Coordinated and organized community meetings with local leaders and organizations to form partnerships between the local network and the Art for Global Justice organization to implement youth arts and literacy programs and recruit participants. • Managed a team of six by defining specific job functions each member would execute in order to attain program goals that aligned to a unifying team and program vision. • Raised awareness of Art for Global Justice’s mission and impact through the Meet Me Here multi-media exhibition series, which highlighted students’ critical engagement in socio-political discourses through photography, video, spoken word, and murals.
Availability
Weekdays after 4PM, Weekends at any time
Can Meet
Up to 20 minutes away for no additional charge
Hobbies
I enjoy hiking on my spare time, allowing myself to take time to appreciate the beauty and peacefulness of nature. I love to travel and connect to places through photography. I enjoy making smoothies and natural juices as a rawvegan. I am a beginner yogi.
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