Student Services
Resource Specialist: Timothy McFarland
I grew up in rural western North Carolina, earned my Bachelor's from Appalachian State University in 2009, and moved to New York City later the same year. I started out teaching ESL to recently arrived immigrants from the Middle East in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn as part of a two-year stint with Americorps. This is where I fell in love with teaching, and I moved on to work as a classroom assistant at a charter school in a traditionally underserved community in Queens. I completed my MAT in Childhood Education during this time and worked as a 3rd grade classroom and middle school flex teacher at the same school until 2015. I moved on to teach middle grades English language arts at a small public school in rural Bhutan and, upon my return to the States, landed in Denver working as an upper elementary school science teacher for 2 years. While in Colorado, I earned my second MA in 2021, this time in German Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, spending a year in Regensburg, Bavaria as a part of the program. This, along with my experiences traveling to and WWOOF'ing in Austria over the years, have contributed to my high level of German proficiency.
The commitment to inclusion lies at the heart of my passion for teaching and I want to share my love of learning with all the students with whom I work. A barrier-free, comprehensive education is the fundamental right of all human beings, and I have dedicated my career to facilitating that right for children and adults across our country and abroad. I have had extensive experience working with English language learners, bilingual children, and children with special needs in a variety of diverse contexts. Looking to the future, I plan to focus my attention on the latter two of these aspects to grow and develop my career even further.
The Resource Specialist position here at GISNY is the perfect place to achieve these goals, and I am so excited to be joining the school community in this capacity. I will be working throughout the entire school to identify students' unique learning needs, coordinating necessary resources to address them, and developing and implementing learning plans for students who need extra support. If you have any questions, or if you'd like to know more about my work here at GISNY, feel free to reach out to me any time at tmcfarland@gisny.org.
Student Guidance Counselor: Kelsey melkonian
I grew up on Long Island and graduated from the University at Buffalo with a BA in Health and Human Services with a concentration in Community Mental Health. I then received my MSEd in School Counseling from Hunter College. Throughout my undergraduate and graduate programs, I supported students both academically and socially during their transition to the next stage of their post-secondary career.
Upon graduating and receiving my Master’s degree, I became an educational consultant to students with various learning differences. I provided these students with transitional services which helped them create career and vocational goals through internship and job experiences.
After transiting back to school counseling, I focused on college counseling and worked with students and their families throughout the entirety of the college application process. Additionally, I have worked with students and families by providing them resources and appropriate mental health referrals when necessary.
I look forward to joining the GISNY community! I look forward to bringing my experience of college counseling and social emotional learning to this position. I look forward to working with students, the faculty, and families to work on the academic and social goals of all students. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at kmelkonian@gisny.org.
Consulting Psychologist: Rachel Landman LMHC
I am delighted to join GISNY as a consulting psychotherapist. My passion for supporting individuals on their mental health journey drives me, and I am eager to contribute to our school community.
As a psychotherapist, my focus is on creating a nurturing and supportive environment for our students, parents, and staff. I look forward to collaborating with the team and making a positive impact.
