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Our Story

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Megan Best
Ms. Ed., Special Education, A/OGA

15+ years of experience working with students with disabilities in the NY area has taught me a lot about what it means to teach well.

As a Special Education teacher and Orton-Gillingham certified reading specialist, one of my greatest joys lies in helping students with special needs and abilities thrive.  As an avid reader, teacher, and mother, my belief is that all children deserve the opportunity to access reading in a way that meets his/her unique learning needs.  

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In 2010, I  graduated from Molloy College with a BA in English.  Upon the recommendation of a dear friend, I began working at The Rehabilitation Institute, (TRI) a vocational training program for high school students with special needs in Westbury, NY.  As the program's only resource room teacher, it was my job to provide students with reading instruction, along with various life skills.  It didn't take long for me to fall in love with this population of students, and within a few years I applied to the New York City Teaching Fellows as a prospective special education teacher.  I was accepted into the program and swiftly thrown into a full-time teaching position at P233Q in NYC's District 75. 

 

Working with 12:1:1 alternate assessment students in a district which only served those with special needs turned out to be one of the greatest gifts of my life.  I soon learned that this work required far more than differentiation of a general education curriculum-- my students presented with significant and varied learning needs, requiring instruction that was carefully scaffolded, data-driven, and responsive to students' communication, behavioral, cognitive, sensory, and academic profiles.  Along the way, I built strong and lasting relationships with my students and their families inside a community that was supportive and philosophically aligned to my own educational principles of equity, access, and inclusion.

Our Philosophy

Laptop and Notebook

"All students can learn; just not on the same day, or in the same way."  --George Evans

Working extensively with students with learning disabilities, I have learned to look beyond a student's diagnosis, disability classification, or standardized score and instead ask a more functional and individualized question: What does this particular learner need in order to access instruction, experience success, and demonstrate what he or she knows?   My experience has taught me that EVERYONE can learn, and that all students deserves access to the tools needed to help them reach their learning goals.

At Kreative Minds, each student is measured against his or her own standard for success.  We hold tightly to Anna Gillingham's admonishment to the teacher to

"go as fast as you can, but as slow as you must."

Progress is observed during each lesson, and changes to subsequent lessons are built in response to specific challenges of the individual learner.

Certifications

General Education, Grades 1-9
New York State

 Students with Disabilties, Grades 1-9
New York State

ELA 7-12
New York State

Orton Gillingham Academy, Associate (A/OGA)

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