Roberto De Leon Email and Phone Number

Over the course of the last 19 years as a classroom teacher and school leader, I have seen transformational growth in my current students. Many have gone on to be the first person in their families to go to college, been awarded scholarships and academic awards, and been accepted to Ivy League universities. Amongst them, there are doctors, lawyers, artists, entrepreneurs, parents, and even teachers themselves! Once a child has gone through my classroom, they are always a welcomed and loved member of a long tradition of kids who have worked to achieve their fullest potential through their own internal motivation and self-belief. While the individual successes of my students mean the most to me, personally, some of my career highlights are: --Leading multiple classes of 6th graders to my school’s highest ever academic growth and overall achievement scores on standardized State Tests in New York and California.--Being a featured teacher in numerous Doug Lemov projects, such as Reading Reconsidered (2016), Teach Like a Champion 2.0 (2014), and Teach Like a Champion (2014) where I was one of 7 highlighted teachers in the book’s opening. My videos were mainly featured in the text’s “Joy Factor” chapters.--Coaching teachers for the Achievement First network, where I coached their Level 4 and 5 teachers - some of the strongest ELA teachers in a Blue Ribbon award winning network.--Contributing to numerous interviews with news outlets such as The New York Times and writing for education websites or teaching blogs such as Nerdy Book Club.--Presenting professional development sessions for groups of teachers in multiple school districts, including LAUSD and NYCDOE.As a middle school English and Humanities teacher, my practice is always growing and changing. Right now, my instructional focus is on:--building a sense of community through joyful, rigorous work with literature and ancillary academic texts. --Honoring and learning from the experiences of "Third Culture Kids" in an international school setting and designing curriculum that meets the needs of all students. This is true Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work in a classroom and curriculum setting.--helping students motivate themselves through thoughtful reflection and goal-setting using the principles of Deep Learning.--collaborating with other subject area teachers to create coursework that is relevant, exciting, and cross-curricular both inside and outside of the classroom.