As the Director of Educational Services, Ms. Bernstein partners with school districts to develop, implement, and co-manage instructional math coaching programs designed to increase effective instructional practices. She co-founded Pear School Solutions in order to provide schools with flexible and affordable options to embed highly-qualified instructional math coaches into as many classrooms as possible. For Ms. Bernstein, improving math instruction for all students is a matter of equity and social justice.

 

Bringing her extensive background in mathematics pedagogy, Ms. Bernstein was most recently a university instructor of math methods at Purdue University Northwest, where she taught, mentored, and coached pre-service teachers on the latest effective mathematics teaching practices. She is best described as a passionate educator and student advocate whose mission is to empower teachers and administrators to implement research-based instructional practices.

 

Winner of the ICTM Excellence in Elementary Teaching award, Ms. Bernstein was a dedicated classroom teacher and part of the core instructional team of Project EXCITE, a joint effort between Northwestern University and the Evanston school districts to promote underrepresented minority student achievement in math and science. She also worked for the University of Chicago Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education (now UChicago STEM Education) as a curriculum writer for Everyday Mathematics (3rd and 4th editions) and led related professional development sessions and curriculum trainings. She branched out to provide professional learning workshops around math practice standards and effective teaching strategies. Additionally, she is a co-author of Integrating Literacy and Math: Strategies for K-6 Teachers, published by Guilford Press.

 

Ms. Bernstein has contributed her experience and expertise on a variety of other mathematics initiatives. For example, Visual Classroom asked her to collaborate with authors and illustrators to develop educational math videos for Discovery Education, and McGraw-Hill Education brought her on to review intervention curriculum and provide feedback on lesson materials.

 

Ms. Bernstein has more than 15 years of classroom experience as an intermediate teacher and teacher leader. Striving always to improve her own practice and share her growth, she has several recorded lessons on UChicago STEM Education’s Virtual Learning Community to be analyzed and discussed by an online community of educators. Furthermore, she served in her district’s Professional Development Leadership Academy to provide training for teachers and administrators on effective curriculum implementation focusing on instructional shifts in mathematics.

​

Ms. Bernstein holds degrees from University of Notre Dame, Loyola University Chicago, and Northeastern IL University and is a life-long learner. She enjoys spending time with her loving husband, daughter, and rescue dog.