Teachers train students to make the world kinder and fairer.”
Madelyn’s Story
Teaching Discipline
Biology
Why Biology
“I lived in Ithaca, New York for twenty years. Cavorting around with my high school running teammates showed me the entropically complex beauty of the living world. Nothing beats it. In college I worked in natural history, preserving and cataloguing specimens. As a teacher, when I collect specimens for my classroom it’s like Pokémon in real life! Well, almost. You can only learn so much from models!”
Professional Experience
As a personal and professional stakeholder in disability, Madelyn completed a two-year graduate residency in both science and special education. She then completed three years at Broome Street Academy Charter High School serving runaway and homeless youth and teaching Biology, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Chemistry, and Earth Science in both ICT and content roles.
During 2023-2024, Madelyn was accepted into the Math for America fellowship and passed the first half of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Currently, Madelyn teaches at William Cullen Bryant High School, teaching multilingual learners and recent immigrants. While she can teach science in Spanish, it’s a new challenge to support emerging students starting exclusively in Arabic, Bengali, Greek, Hindi, Urdu, Nepali, Mandarin, and French! She is proud to support students learning both the languages of English and science.
Madelyn always employs subtle humor, structured discipline, and dramatic instruction (her “Performance Pedagogy.”) When 9th graders first enter her classroom, not all are ready for high school. However, through her program, all students leave ready.
Hobbies
Madelyn enjoys attempting home repair and skateboarding. If you meet her, ask to play pinball!
Academic Background
- Cornell University (Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences)
- Columbia University (Master of Education)