Anna Zivian 

Anna Zivian joined WDS as Learning Specialist/Special Education Coordinator for the 2022-2023 school year. This new position allows  us to expand our Learning Lab offerings to families. Additionally, in her role as Special Education Coordinator, Anna will help advance the level of support we provide to our students with special education needs.

Anna most recently worked as an Instructional Coach for the Kingston School District where her many accomplishments included supporting staff with adapting curriculum for special education students, delivering staff development training for inquiry-based learning, guided reading, differentiation, and scaffolding techniques, and training teachers in how to apply appropriate intervention strategies to support learning deficits in reading and writing. At the Urban Assembly School for the Performing Arts in New York City, Anna served as Lead Teacher, Special Education Department Chair, and IEP Coordinator. In these roles, her responsibilities included teaching 9^th through 12^th grade ELA, ensuring all compliance for student IEPs, and mentoring new special education teachers. Anna also worked as a Special Education Teacher at M.S. 331 Bronx School of Science and Inquiry where her teaching assignments included 8^th grade ELA, 7^th and 8^th grade special education classes in math, literacy, and social studies. Additionally, Anna was an education consultant and environmental literacy and arts educator at The Knowledge Project and an environmental educator and mentor for Friends of Brook Park

Anna holds an MA in Applied Theater  from the CUNY School of Professional Studies, an MA in Urban Education from Mercy College, and a BFA in Acting and Directing from Syracuse University. She is certified by NYS as a Special Education Generalist for grades 5-9, Theater Arts for grades K-12, and is in the process of obtaining her Elementary certificate.