Special Ed Strategies & Stories
Hey there! I'm Ms. H — Brooklyn-born teacher, Orton-Gillingham trained, special ed expert, and mom of two (with one on the way). Welcome to my corner of the internet where we keep it real about teaching.
Brooklyn-born and book-obsessed (thanks, Harry Potter!), I've turned my passion for education into a career filled with unexpected turns and endless learning.
My journey started in 2013 at a Catholic school when the NYC DOE had a hiring freeze. Since 2014, I've been thriving as a special ed teacher in public high schools, earning tenure, switching schools in 2022, and now co-teaching while raising two amazing daughters (with baby #3 on the way!).
Armed with two Master's degrees, Orton-Gillingham training, and Autism Education certification, I'm here to share what actually works in the classroom — no fluff, just real strategies.
Education Nerd
B.A. Secondary Ed + 2 Master's Degrees
Coffee Powered
Running on caffeine and determination since 2013
Mom of (Almost) Three
Two daughters + one on the way!
Mission
Every kid can learn — we just need the right tools
Specialties
Special Ed, English, Struggling Readers, IEP Support
"I believe in contract hours, real talk about education, and that sometimes you need wine instead of coffee (no judgment here!)."
Real strategies, honest stories, and practical tips from the special ed trenches
Or: How I Got 3 Hours of My Life Back and Finally Had Time to Actually Help My Students Picture this: It's my prep period. I have 42 minutes. In those...
When Traditional Pre-Reading Activities Fall Flat, It's Time to Level Up nervously waits for the ELA purists to come for me Let's talk about anticipat...
Or: Everything They Didn't Teach You in Grad School About the Most Important Hour of a Kid's Year Let me tell you about my first IEP meeting as a bran...
Or: How to Stop Creating 30 Different Lessons and Start Teaching 30 Different Kids Here's a fun exercise: Count how many times you've heard "different...
Or: How Being a Terrible Test Taker Made Me a Better Teacher Let me tell you about the moment I nearly lost it during a department meeting. We were re...
Or: Everything I Learned Writing 150+ IEPs in NYC That Nobody Taught Me in Grad School Let me start with a truth bomb that'll make admin nervous: Most...
Or: How Planning Like a GPS Actually Gets Your Students Where They Need to Go Here's a deep question: Do you know exactly what your students should be...
Or: The Spreadsheet Addiction That Actually Made Me a Better Teacher Let me start with a confession that'll make me sound like the nerdiest teacher al...
Or: How I'll Die on This Hill, With Data in Hand and Zero F*cks Left to Give Let me start with something that's going to piss off approximately 47% of...
Real Talk About Electronics, Addiction, and Actually Learning Something Look, I need to start this with a confession that's going to make me sound lik...
Or: How a Catholic School Girl Finally Got Schooled on What Really Matters Let me paint you a picture: It's my second year teaching in the NYC DOE. I'...
A 14-Day Unit That Actually Works, Because Who Has Time to Reinvent the Wheel? Let's talk about poetry units. You know, those magical two weeks where ...
Confessions of an English Teacher Who Doesn't Worship at the Altar of the Bard Okay, I'm about to commit English teacher blasphemy, so buckle up: I do...
Real Talk About Finding Every Kid's Sweet Spot in Education Let's start with a truth bomb: inclusion isn't about throwing all kids into the same class...
A Love Letter to Special Education and a Call-Out to Everyone Who Thinks "Those Kids" Can't Learn Let me start with a confession: I'm that teacher. Yo...
A Pregnant Teacher's Guide to September Chaos and Setting the Right Tone Ah, September. That magical time when non-teachers say "Must be nice to have ...
Hey there, fellow educator (or curious parent who accidentally clicked on this blog while doom-scrolling at 2 AM)! I'm Jodi, and apparently, I was des...
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