Jill Lerner - Founder

Jill founded Learn with the Best in 2001. Having moved to North Carolina 11 years ago, Jill is originally from Southern California where she earned an Advanced Bachelors degree in Psychology from Occidental College.

She went on to earn a Masters of Arts degree and North Carolina Teaching Certification in Special Education - Learning and Educable Mental Disabilities - Kindergarten through 12th Grade, in 1998 from NC State University and a North Carolina Early Childhood Credential from Wake Tech Community College in 2007. Jill taught self-contained special education classes Kindergarten through 3rd grade for Wake County for about 5 years and then was a resource teacher and compliance specialist in a Montessori setting for 2 years.

Currently, Jill tutors students in preschool through 8th grade, manages her fabulous staff, and advocates for families to help them navigate the North Carolina special education system. Jill is married, and she and her husband have 1 magnificent child and 3 terrific beagles!

“I feel privileged to work with students and families in an educational capacity every day of my life. I live for the light bulb moments which are seen very frequently in our one on one tutoring program.”

Cindy

Cindy is the program instructor for our PALS II group, which is a social skills and pragmatic language based group for students with autism in grades K through 5.

Cindy holds a Master’s Degree in Speech/Language Pathology and was a speech-language pathologist in the Massachusetts public schools for 3 years.

In 2004, Cindy packed up and moved south to escape the blustery New England winters! Currently, she is an ASHA Certified speech-language pathologist in the Wake County Public Schools and tutors children preschool through grade 6.

When Cindy is not at Learn with the Best, she enjoys laughing with friends, playing with her dog “Fenway”, and reading.

Lauren

Lauren is a 4th grade teacher in Wake County Public Schools. She has taught 4th grade for seven years. In addition to her K - 6 certification in Elementary Education, she is also certified in ESL (English as a Second Language) and holds a Master's Degree in Reading from UNC - Chapel Hill.

In her spare time, Lauren likes to spend time with her family - all who live close by in Raleigh and Sanford and she enjoys exercising outdoors.

Tamra

Tamra is currently in her 6th year of teaching 1st grade. She has had the opportunity to tutor children of all ages since college. This will be Tamra's second year in North Carolina, and she has found it a great place to live and work!

Tamra received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Washburn University, in Topeka, Kansas in 2002.

“Working with students on an individual basis is a great experience, and it is very beneficial to their learning.”

Nick

Nick is originally from Baltimore, MD and graduated from Washington State University with a Bachelor of Arts in History. He also earned a Master of Arts from Towson University in Educational Leadership. Currently, Nick teaches 8th grade Social Studies and has taught for nine years.

Nick is married, and he and his wife have 3 little girls, a dog named Fitch and a cat named Roxy. A sports nut, Nick loves lacrosse, baseball, and basketball, with his favorite teams being the Orioles, Wizards, Ravens, WSU, University of Maryland, and Notre Dame. Nick also is the JV lacrosse coach at Holly Springs High School and coaches for the Youth Lacrosse System of North Carolina.

Carrie

Carrie moved to Cary nine years ago from Hendersonville, NC, a small town in the mountains. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature and Education from UNC-Asheville in 1999.

Carrie has taught English at the 9th, 11th, and 12th grade levels and has eight years teaching experience in Wake County. She became a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in 2006 for English 9-12.

Carrie is married and has a new baby, with whom she is currently staying home. She looks forward to working with students to help them uncover their potential and overcome obstacles so that they may achieve success.

Daniel

Daniel was born and raised in Cary, NC and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from North Carolina State University in 2007. He is currently a Ph.D. student in the math department where he studies pure math, particularly math coming from physics.

Daniel is an advocate of the idea that anyone can learn to understand and appreciate math and science and is dedicated to the advancement of mathematics and science teaching.

Outside of academics, Daniel enjoys learning languages, debating social issues and walking in the forest.

Robin

Robin has been a teacher of Spanish for over 30 years in the New York City Public Schools. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brooklyn College and a Master of Arts degree from Hunter College, both in New York.

Robin most recently, and for over 25 years, taught at a middle school in Queens, NY . Robin really enjoys imparting her love of Spanish on her students. She has lived in Spain and studied at the University of Madrid.

“Spanish can be fun, and all you need is a little help to get you over the rough spots!! Hasta la vista!!”

Melissa

A North Carolina native, Melissa graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2006. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Elementary Education, and has been teaching in Wake County Public Schools as an elementary specialist for 3 years.

Outside of academics, Melissa enjoys reading, going to the beach, watching Carolina sports, and spending time with her family and friends. She is very passionate about teaching, and loves creating a bond with her students and helping them learn!

Rebecca

Rebecca comes to us from upstate New York. She graduated from SUNY Cortland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education with a concentration in the Psychology of the Exceptional Child.

Rebecca moved to North Carolina in 2001 and in her first five years, she did a lot of different work with children with disabilities. In 2004, Rebecca began teaching a Pre-Kindergarten self-contained class for children with Autism.

Outside of the classroom, Rebecca enjoys spending time with her family who have all moved to NC also. She loves to run and plans on participating in her first marathon in September, 2009.

Kimmie

Kimmie is originally from the Hudson Valley area of New York State. She has lived in North Carolina since 1987 and attended Western Carolina University and North Carolina State University.

Kimmie earned her Bachelors Degree in Social Work and a Masters Degree in Special Education from NC State. She has worked with children ages 4-17 in the community and school settings and will be working at Olive Chapel Elementary in the 2009-10 school year in the self contained, Autism I classroom.

Currently, Kimmie lives in Holly Springs with her two cats, Leah and Tobey and enjoys spending her free time with her niece and nephew who live in Apex.

Robyn

Robyn currently is in her 7th year of teaching and loving every minute of it!

She has taught 4th grade for five years in Northern Virginia and is currently teaching language arts in an inclusive 5th grade classroom in Wake County.

Robyn received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Marywood University in 2003. She is certified to teach grades K-6th grade.

Robyn truly enjoys working with students on an individual basis, committed to helping them overcome difficulties and foster self-esteem in their abilities to learn.