Faculty Spotlight: Taking a Look at Academic Support and Enrichment

In an increasingly complex and nuanced world, girls must have access to a safe and supportive community that prioritizes their mental, social and emotional well-being. At Baldwin, we are unwavering in our commitment to fostering an enriching learning environment that ignites a passion for learning while addressing students' academic, social and emotional needs. We believe in a transformative approach to education that goes beyond traditional teaching methods. Our vibrant and diverse learning environment is committed to meeting the needs of every student, helping them cultivate essential skills in self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship building and responsible decision-making. 

 

The Academic Support and Enrichment Team and the Counseling Department are pivotal in creating this responsive and supportive learning environment. Whether a Baldwin girl is engaged with a classroom teacher, receiving counseling or learning from one of our specialists, she benefits from a deliberate and thoughtful strategy designed to foster her continuous growth. Our Academic Support and Enrichment Team is dedicated to helping students recognize and embrace their distinct learning styles. They work hand in hand with teachers to cultivate an inclusive environment that caters to all learners, utilizing diagnostic assessments, differentiated instruction and exciting enrichment programs like the Math Olympiad. 

 

As Baldwin students advance in their education, the team offers multifaceted support, collaborating closely with teachers, advisors and counselors to track progress, address academic hurdles and instill vital skills such as effective note-taking, test preparation and time management. Ultimately, we strive to empower our students to understand their learning styles and confidently advocate for their academic needs, setting them up for success.

 

 

Pia Awal Beirne, Coordinator of Academic Support and Enrichment Pre-K – Grade 12
Bank Street College of Education - MEd

Bank Street College of Education - MS
Barnard College - BA

 

Pia has served as Baldwin’s Coordinator of Academic Support and Enrichment since 2018, expanding her department from two to five learning specialists. She explains that as research on neurodiversity and the brain advances, so does the approach to learning support. “More families are seeking insights into their daughter's learning profile, which empowers students to understand their strengths and challenges,” she says. Pia’s team focuses on supporting executive functioning skills and designing lessons that challenge students appropriately. By asking students to reflect on what’s working and what’s not, they can adjust strategies to support academic success.

 

Pia emphasizes celebrating risks, hard work and achievements — big or small — to build student confidence. Encouraging vulnerability, whether in asking questions, sending emails or engaging in extracurriculars, sparks meaningful conversations about time management and work-life balance. By fostering an environment where students feel comfortable seeking help from teachers, peers and learning specialists, Pia helps them develop leadership and self-advocacy skills.

 

The department supports students with various learning differences, tailoring their approach based on individual needs. Initial meetings often focus on identifying areas of strength and challenge, which guides the type of support needed — subject-specific help, study skills or organizational strategies. Common strategies include breaking down assignments, reviewing class notes, making lists and developing active study habits. Pia teaches students that active learning — such as writing out information or teaching it to someone else — may be more effective than just rereading their notes or textbook. By helping students advocate for themselves and seek support when needed, Pia ensures they are prepared for future academic challenges.

 

As an educator for the last 27 years, love of learning is central to Pia's work as a teacher and learning specialist. In every journey, there are bumps on the way. Figuring out how to navigate those together in a safe space is central to Pia's work with students, teachers and families.

Kate Hunter, Coordinator of Counseling and Well-being, Upper School Counselor
Rosemont College - MA
Thomas Jefferson University - BA

 

Baldwin recently launched a Counseling Department to provide a consistent, spiraled approach to social-emotional learning, focusing on emotional regulation. As the Coordinator of Counseling and Well-being and the Upper School Counselor, Kate draws on her 14 years of experience overseeing the department and supporting counselors in developing crisis-management plans. “Preventative interventions like SEL lessons are vital, but we also need real-time, responsive strategies for mental health crises,” she says. While Baldwin counselors provide therapeutic support, Kate stresses the importance of maintaining boundaries, as they are not clinical therapists. She also emphasizes the need for strong parent partnerships to improve student mental health through trust and collaboration.

 

The department aims to equip students, faculty, and staff with shared skills and language to foster confidence, leadership and resilience. Kate believes vulnerability is a key strength for leaders, as students who feel comfortable asking for help and acknowledging their growth become more confident in facing challenges. In Upper School, where academic pressure and college expectations often make students feel isolated, Kate works with faculty and parents to help students develop college readiness and emotional resilience skills. College success, she emphasizes, involves more than grades — it’s about teamwork, personal growth and time management.

 

Kate also addresses the impact of social media on students' self-esteem. She encourages students to distinguish between real and edited online personas and build a supportive network of peers called “Accountabilibuddies.” Faculty and staff join in, using their own Accountabilibuddies to promote healthier mindsets and mutual support.

 

As a licensed professional counselor (LPC), Kate continually updates her knowledge and techniques. This year, she is incorporating photo therapy into social-emotional learning through Points of You, a tool that uses photos and questions to deepen connections, teach empathy and expand emotional tolerance. She is committed to learning new approaches to better support Baldwin’s students, faculty and families.

 

Eileen Cianfrani, Lower School Learning Specialist & Instructional Coach, Math
Cabrini University - MEd
Ursinus College - BS

 

Eileen is in her 5th year as Baldwin’s Lower School Learning Specialist, where she has supported students in reading and math. Recently, the role has expanded to include two specialists, so Eileen is now mainly focused on helping all Lower School students reach their full potential in math. She partners with classroom teachers and families to ensure best practices and resources. She emphasizes building strong number sense and operational thinking, moving beyond memorization to engage students with creative, problem-solving tasks that challenge them to apply their skills.

 

A key part of Eileen’s work is fostering a growth mindset, especially around “productive struggle.” She encourages students to embrace challenges, recognizing that it's okay not to have all the answers immediately. “A phrase we use in my classroom often is, ‘I don’t know how to do this yet,’” she notes. “Developing and fostering this mindset sets our students up to be calculated risk takers.” By modeling her thinking in front of the students, Eileen helps them become confident problem solvers, cultivating perseverance and flexible thinking.

In supporting diverse learning needs, Eileen helps students with varying math proficiency levels, whether through extra practice or challenges for advanced learners. She works closely with teachers and families to tailor support, whether for students who need more practice, struggle with organization or attention, or are ready for more complex, critical thinking tasks.

 

“It is exciting for me to be in a position to push our Baldwin Bears not only to be capable mathematicians but also to be problem solvers who can think critically and analytically,” she explains. “I don’t expect all students to love math, but I want all students to have a good relationship with math. I like to use math games like Numskill, 24 and Magic Number to engage students and enjoyably reinforce critical thinking skills,” she explains.

 

Eileen embraces continuous growth and being open to new ideas. “Our world is ever-changing, which means as teachers, we need to change and adapt our ways of thinking if we are going to make a lasting impact on our students,” she stresses. “If I want my students to love learning, the best way to instill this mindset is to model it myself. I love exploring and introducing new activities with the students, and I hope to inspire the same enthusiasm in them.”

 

 

Aura Gersenson, Middle School Learning Specialist
Bennington College – BA

 

Aura is Baldwin’s Middle School Learning Specialist, with 20 years of classroom teaching experience and a background as an educational therapist and academic language practitioner. She helps students develop confidence and leadership by guiding them to understand themselves as learners. “By recognizing their unique qualities and talents, students begin to see themselves as individuals who can think critically and are active participants of not only their academic communities but as global citizens for change and progress,” she explains.

 

With a deeper understanding of neuroplasticity, education has evolved over the last several decades to support diverse learning styles, expanding opportunities for academic, emotional and social growth. In managing varying learning styles and differences, Aura uses a combination of creativity and research-based strategies to meet students where they are. By collaborating with families and classroom teachers, she creates personalized plans that meet students’ needs while challenging them to grow.

 

“While ‘Love of Learning’ is this year’s theme at Baldwin, it is the essence of what we strive for every moment of the day when working with students,” Aura says. For her, it means helping students access knowledge, think critically and feel good about their contributions. She fosters this through humor and creating an environment where students and educators are motivated to keep learning and growing together.

 

 

Alyssa Kolowrat, Upper School Learning Specialist & Instructional Coach
West Chester University - MA
La Salle University - MA
Cabrini University - MEd
Trinity College - BA

 

As Baldwin's Upper School Learning Specialist and Instructional Coach, Alyssa has noticed that while the landscape of learning support and enrichment has evolved, learning differences remain highly stigmatized and misunderstood. One of her key roles is educating the community about these differences and stressing the importance of parents' and teachers' support and understanding.

 

“I do my best to teach my students the difficult skill of advocating for themselves,” she explains. Alyssa works to build her students' confidence and leadership by teaching them these critical skills. When students succeed in advocating for themselves, they gain a sense of strength and agency, empowering them to handle difficult situations independently.

In her work, Alyssa has observed an increase in mental health struggles among students, which often compound existing learning challenges and make it difficult for students to be in the headspace for learning. To meet students where they are, she focuses on helping them regulate their emotions, focus and make plans to manage their work moving forward, providing support in ways that accommodate their current needs.

 

For Alyssa, "Love of Learning" is about the joy of exploring topics of interest — school-related or personal passions. She loves it when students share their excitement for learning, as it often teaches her new things and deepens her appreciation for the learning process.

 

 

Liz Koster, Middle School Counselor
University of Pennsylvania - MSW
Haverford College - BA

Liz Koster is the Middle School Counselor at Baldwin, with 16 years of experience in both public and independent schools. She uses a relational approach to create an environment where people feel empowered to explore challenges. Liz values vulnerability, connection and play as key components of her work, partnering with teachers, coaches and community organizations to support students in need. She is a strong advocate of the growth mindset, often using phrases like “not yet” to encourage resilience.

 

 In her 7th grade health class, Liz focuses on intellectual health, which can be described as a love of growth and discovery. “This is an integral part of an individual’s well-being,” she stresses.

 

During Middle School assemblies and in the 7th grade Life Skills classes, Liz shares mindfulness strategies with the students to increase their attentiveness, suspend their self-judgment and ease physical tensions or anxieties. She helps students realize that all feelings are valid and some feelings can be addressed using the “Mood Meter” and “Coping Skills Alphabet.” 

 

Liz also was responsible for the creation of the Middle School Bear Den, a wellness space adjacent to her office. Students can retrieve a “Take 5” pass from their teachers’ desks and go to the MS Bear Den for five minutes to refocus and recharge using self-regulating strategies such as mindfulness breathing, coloring, practicing meditation, participating yoga poses and raking sand. Upon entering the MS Bear Den, students fill out a slip of paper naming their feelings before and after using the Bear Den, identifying strategies used while in the Bear Den and entering and exiting times. “These slips are placed in a locked box that only I can access, so I can follow up with students as needed and gather data on how the MS Bear Den is used,” Liz explains.

Maura Langan, Lower School Counselor
Pennsylvania State University - MEd
University of Scranton - BS

 

Maura is the Baldwin Lower School Counselor, supporting the academic, social, and emotional development of students in grades Pre-K—5 for the past six years. The counseling program is designed to reach all students, and over the years, she has seen a positive shift in the focus on student mental health and well-being. This growing emphasis has led to an increased need for school counseling services at Baldwin and beyond.

 

“One of the most impactful ways my work fosters confidence and leadership is through the Lower School counseling curriculum,” she explains. “I teach lessons in each Pre-K – Grade 5 classroom as part of the Specials rotation, focusing on skills like self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship-building and responsible decision-making.” By teaching students how to identify and express their feelings and resolve conflicts peacefully, Maura helps them advocate for themselves and build confidence.

 

In today's world, one of the main pressures students face is managing technology in a healthy, balanced way. Maura and the Lower School faculty support them by guiding them to use technology mindfully and maintain balance.

 

According to Maura, Baldwin’s theme "Love of Learning," embodies the idea that we are all learners at Baldwin. “In Lower School, we encourage curiosity, asking questions and taking pride in the learning process. This theme is reflected daily as I teach social and emotional learning skills. It brings me great joy when students share how these skills have helped them feel more confident at school.”

Dr. Marissa Truong, Lower School Learning Specialist
Temple University - PhD
Villanova University - MS
Gettysburg College - BA

 

Dr. Truong teaches literacy to Pre-K through 5th grade students in small and whole group settings, providing differentiated instruction to support reading and writing achievement. She collaborates with teachers, offering guidance and resources, and assists with literacy screenings to monitor student progress and adjust teaching plans accordingly.

 

As a Learning Specialist, Dr. Truong helps students build academic and social-emotional skills in a supportive environment. Small group settings foster student confidence, allowing them to develop self-advocacy and leadership skills while recognizing their strengths and needs.

Dr. Truong tailors instruction based on diagnostic data to support students with learning differences, using a blend of visual, auditory and kinesthetic strategies to address diverse learning styles. To help students access the curriculum more effectively, “We often say sounds as we write them, use motions to help recall letter sounds and use visual cues to help blend sounds,” she explains.

 

Dr. Truong believes a "Love of Learning" means nurturing students' natural curiosity and showing them how books and reading open doors to knowledge and imagination. “By infusing fun, interactive lessons — like read-alouds and hands-on games, I aim to build confidence and inspire a lifelong passion for learning, where curiosity leads to discoveries and endless questions.”