HCDC Continues to Excel
Hampton Country Day Camp is excited to announce that due to the great success we’ve had in previous summers, we have expanded our tutoring team! We have partnered with five experienced, highly-respected New York City tutors for the upcoming summer and camp parents can now sign-up for private, individualized, supplemental education services for their children AT CAMP! As we continually look to improve our camp program, we recognize the importance of “continued education” and look forward to providing our camp families with the option to connect with a tutor for any preparation needed over the summer. Each of the tutors below are well-versed in a wide array of disciplines and offer specially designed test preparation. In everything we do at Hampton Country Day Camp, building self-esteem and self-confidence is at the forefront of our mission – each of the tutors share our philosophy on child development and are eager to help develop skills for success. If you are interested in learning more about our tutors or have questions about our ‘EXCEL’ tutoring program, please call us and we’d be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Please note there is an additional charge for this service.
FRIEDA BLOOM
Frieda’s philosophical approach is to teach students to learn to read so that they will have the ability to read to learn. She utilizes an organized and detail-oriented approach and creates individualized and original learning materials for students. Frieda’s work empowers students to “try” by using positive reinforcement by instilling confidence and a love of reading in her students in the early grades.
As a former NYC K-6 teacher, Frieda understands the necessity of getting a solid reading foundation as early as possible. Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten are a perfect time to implement a comprehensive literacy model – one that blends phonics, fluency, and comprehension through engaging materials and activities. Frieda has successfully utilized this approach with my students who attend or have attended various independent schools, such as Horace Mann, Dalton, Fieldston, Riverdale, Grace Church, Stephen Gaynor School, Abraham Joshua Heschel, etc.
Frieda has worked in collaboration with a literacy consultant for nine years and a school psychologist for eight years. Her work with these two literacy professionals involved establishing and implementing both intervention and enrichment programs. Through this collaborative effort, Frieda has become familiar with various reading benchmark assessments, test preparation and the interpretation of results which enable her to customize instruction with creative and inventive materials. Frieda has been very successful in assisting children to reach their academic potential.
RENEE BARITZ
Renee Baritz has been a private tutor since 2004, working with NYC private, public and parochial school students. She works with students in reading, math, English and enrichment. She provides students with strong support in a one-on-one setting to help them achieve while building their self-esteem. Renee creates individualized programs for her students that will instill self-confidence and a love of learning. She takes the time to listen to her student’s questions and desires while assessing what is the best way to proceed to give them the tools necessary to succeed. Renee’s goal is to help children learn in a supportive, creative way which allows them success and self-confidence.
Renee is certified in the Stern Mathematics Program as well as the Wilson Language Training Program. She is also accredited in the Orton Gillingham Reading Program. Both of these reading programs combine the use of a strong phonetic approach combined with the learning of sight words. These programs give students the tools needed to attack new words. She provides all test prep for private school admissions which includes: ERB, ECAA and ISEE.
Prior to tutoring, Renee was a Special Education teacher for children with learning disabilities. She also worked as an elementary school classroom teacher as well as a math and reading specialist. Renee has an MS in Special Education from Bank Street College, a BA in Elementary Education from George Washington University, and an MSW from Hunter School of social work.
Renee loves working with children and gets such joy and satisfaction watching them succeed.
ROBIN KESOLNSKY-JAHODA
Robin Keslonsky-Jahoda comes from a family of educators. Teaching is in her blood and so becoming a classroom teacher has been a natural progression in the development of her professional career.
Robin graduated from college with a degree in Speech and Language Pathology and Audiology. After working as a teacher of speech and language improvement in several New York City schools and subsequently receiving her Master’s Degree in English and Writing, Robin worked as an educator in Japan. It was during this international experience that Robin realized her true passion for educating children.
Robin has tutored children in elementary through middle school in all academic subject areas for over 15 years, in New York City as well as in the Hamptons, focusing on math and reading skills. Robin strives to help students develop strong organizational and independent study skills. She provides academic support for all test preparation, remediation, and enrichment necessary for acceptance into schools as well as success within the school. Robin believes in the importance of developing a strong rapport with her students, as well as keeping parents informed of their child’s progress. This ensures the learning process carries over into every aspect of the child’s life.
By creating a calm and encouraging environment Robin can bring out the best in her students academically. She recognizes that her students may have different learning styles and tailors her instruction to meet their individual needs. The students feel her dedication and her attention to their needs and preferences enabling Robin to have a tremendous success while also having an enjoyable time.
Robin is so pleased to be able to combine two avenues of her life that bring her such joy – Teaching and Camp.
JESSICA KORENBLATT
Jessica Korenblatt is a Kindergarten teacher at Rodeph Sholom School in New York City. She has been teaching there since 2007. Additionally, she has been working as private tutor for many children who attend the New York City private schools. She received her Master’s Degree in reading and literacy specialty from Teachers College, Columbia University and her undergraduate degree in Education and Psychology from Skidmore College. She is trained in Orton-Gillingham, a program that is designed to help children who have difficulty with reading, spelling, and writing. Her passion and love for working with children creates an environment where children can have fun, take risks and feel confident.
Her specialty is working with early childhood children and preparing them for their upcoming school year. She has experience working with children in preparation for the ERBS and teaches them important skills that can help children be successful in school, home, and different environments. Jessica has a lot of experience working with young children and teaching the introductory skills on how to become independent readers and writers.
Jessica feels strongly that children need to feel a love and an excitement for learning to be successful. She individualizes each program to meet a child’s needs and develops instructional games to teach specific skills. She develops each program based on a child’s needs to be successful and does informal assessments to make sure they are progressing.
Communication is key to success. Jessica communicates frequently with parents and, during the school year, teachers and learning specialists. She believes that this communication ensures that everyone is working together to meet the child’s needs. Jessica has many clients who attend Buckley, Allen Stevenson, Collegiate, St. Bernards, Spence, The JCC, Episcopal, 92 St Y, etc. She has many colleagues and relationships with the learning specialists at many NYC private schools and is very familiar with their programs and curriculum.
MORGAN LEFF
Morgan Leff is currently a third grade teacher in a New York City private school. She has experience being a classroom teacher in 2nd-5th grade. In addition to her classroom tenure, Morgan has privately tutored students from numerous NYC schools during the school year and during the summer. Teaching everything from science, to literacy and math in the classroom, tutoring for standardized tests, and supporting and encouraging all types of learners over the summer, has prepared her to work with a plethora of children. Morgan’s tutoring clients range in age from 3 to 13 and her versatility is endless.
When teaching, and in life, Morgan believes in incorporating humor and lightheartedness into every lesson. All of Morgan’s students look forward to their time in the classroom or their private lessons because they know they will learn and have fun. She has a knack for turning a hesitant student into one who is excited to keep the summer-learning momentum going.
Families are incorporated into their child’s summer learning and are updated weekly. If requested, Morgan will provide book suggestions, games, puzzles, or problems that the whole family can work on together. This practice emphasizes the important commitment to being a lifelong learner and doing so with lightheartedness!
Having grown up in NYC and spent her summers in Southampton, Morgan is looking forward to combining her love of teaching with her love of the East End.
CAITLIN HOPKINS
Caitlin brings her energy, humor and smile with her to each tutoring session. One of Caitlin’s main teaching goals is to continuously build a strong rapport with each student. She strives to get to know each student on an individual level so that she may better understand his/her interests, motivations and learning style. Caitlin makes sure to instill confidence in her young learners by building their self esteem through positive reinforcement. This initial foundation creates a learning environment paved for success.
Caitlin has been teaching at Rodeph Sholom School for two years beginning as a first grade teacher and presently positioned in third grade. Previously, Caitlin taught high school abroad on a tropical island in Micronesia. Though she cherished this unique experience, her true passion is educating early childhood and elementary students.
Caitlin attended the University of Scranton for her undergraduate degree where she earned a dual teaching degree in Elementary and Special Education. In May 2015, Caitlin graduated from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education where she earned a Master’s of Science in Early Childhood/Special Education. Caitlin uses her special education background to meet the needs of each individual learner. She prefers to tutor with a hands-on approach by utilizing manipulatives and engaging in instructional games. Caitlin is trained to teach Fundations, the Wilson Language Program that emphasizes foundational skills in phonics, fluency, reading comprehension and spelling. Caitlin has experience tutoring children from ages 5 to 10 in the Hamptons and New York City.
