I think a great start to this blog would be to tell you a bit about myself.  I graduated from Kenyon College in Ohio with a degree in Political Science.  While political theory is still very interesting to me, I decided to go straight into the field of education.  I began this journey by joining the Teaching Fellows Program in NYC.  This is a program not unlike Teach For America, but places teachers in high-needs schools in New York.  While in this program I taught in an AlterativeHigh School in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn and worked towards my Masters of Science in Teaching at Long Island University.  The school I worked at, Brooklyn Academy, was a wonderful place to learn and teach.  I was the lone Special Education teacher in the school and worked with students returning to High School after age 17 who may have left school for a number of social or legal reasons.  I worked closely with all of the students and teachers in that school to really support all learners.

After Brooklyn Academy and LIU, I wanted to pursue more administrative opportunities.  So I decided to help start a new small school in Bensonhurst, called The Expeditionary Learning School for Community Leaders (Leaders for short).  I also pursued my M.Ed. in school administration at Columbia Teachers College.  I really enjoyed my time at Leaders as the Special Education Lead Teacher for a completely Co-Taught model school.  One of the most exciting aspects of this school was that we were community partnered with Outward Bound and really did great work on project-based learning.

From there, my wife and I moved to the Boston area where I joined the Arlington High School community as a teacher and team chair in the behavioral program.  I have loved working in Arlington.  People are so caring and great at what they do.  Every year I see such great work and great devotion to our students.  Thank you for welcoming me into the community for the past few years as the Secondary Special Education Coordinator.