Caitlin was born, raised and currently resides in the Bronx. She began studying early childhood education in earnest as a student at Cornell University. During her studies, she was able to travel abroad to Sweden where she worked for a semester in a public nursery school. The respect Scandinavian teachers have for the voice of the child and their commitment to following children’s lead continues to inspire Caitlin as she teaches today.

Caitlin has had the opportunity to work in a variety of diverse settings including parent co-ops, a Montessori school and a children’s hospital. In 2004, Caitlin took a job as an assistant teacher at Columbus Park West Nursery School, a one-room school on the Upper West Side. The quiet, child-directed setting proved to be the perfect home for Caitlin. Two years of practicing progressive pedagogy led her directly to Bank Street. She enrolled at Bank Street to earn her Master’s in Early Childhood General and Special Education. This fall, Caitlin began the process of passing on her knowledge to the next generation of teachers through adjunct work at the City College Center for Worker Education.

As a lead teacher, Caitlin takes time to enjoy the lives of the children in her care. Listening intently to their conversations and questions, Caitlin uses their curiosity to build a curriculum. Recent topics of study include how do restaurants work, how do you make clothes and how do you make hammers. Above all other things, Caitlin values creating a caring classroom community. Caitlin and her team devote themselves to helping children to peaceably resolve conflicts and to effectively articulate their feelings. Caitlin also believes in demystifying the classroom experience for families. Caitlin maintains close ties to parents through daily interactions and detailed weekly newsletters. The newsletters provide both information and explanation about the many episodes of classroom life. In the coming year, Caitlin hopes to bring her insights from the classroom to the public through a series of children’s books designed to help parents and children cope with the common stressors of childhood, such as losing a beloved toy, having a bad day, or missing a parent who travels.

"What I've learned from my kids over the years is that...those moments of pause can lead to wonderful discoveries."

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