Christian Mehalic, 4th Grade WATER Teacher

A native of Washington, DC, Christian started his path towards elementary education when he was a teenager, volunteering at and then helping to run multiple summer camps in Northern Virginia. After completing his B.S. in Early Childhood Education from The University of New Orleans, his first three years of teaching were in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade classes. For the past two years, he has taught in a middle school special education setting. During this time he gained valuable experience with and understanding of differentiating instruction for individual learners and designing instruction based on specific learning abilities, as well as how to better meet the academic and social-emotional needs of children. He loves helping students develop the core foundational skills gained in first grade, as well as fostering a classroom of joyful, empathetic, and caring young people. He believes that connecting with students outside of school hours is vital to keeping them engaged and invested in their education, and has participated in after-school tutoring for the entirety of his teaching career.