Specialized Instruction Teachers' Photos

Magen Barnett joined Van Ness in 2017 as a specialized instruction teacher. Prior to Van Ness, Magen served as a special education teacher at Tyler Elementary School where she worked in both inclusion and self-contained settings. She has expertise in a number of evidence-based reading and math interventions, including Spell Read and Do the Math. Magen holds a BA from Howard University and MA in Elementary Inclusive Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College.

Mikaela will be entering her 13th year of teaching within DCPS and is very excited to join the team at Van Ness this year. She previously taught special education at Barnard and Stanton Elementary Schools as both an inclusion teacher and a lead teacher in Early Learning Support classrooms. She holds a B.S. in Special and Elementary Education from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Outside of school, Mikaela loves to travel the world and spend time with her family!

Joscary De La Cruz joins us as a special education teacher in the 2021-22 school year. Joscary has taught and supported grades Kindergarten through 4th grade in Brooklyn and Manhattan, New York. During her final year at Excellence Boys Charter school, she was a second grade lead teacher, where their second grade classrooms had the highest math scores in the Uncommon Schools network.

Joscary started her career in education as Jumpstart Corps member in the inner city of Boston. During college, she embarked on service trips to Dominican Republic where she visited and contributed to local schools and an orphanage. Joscary also volunteered as a Peer Health Exchange member teaching health practices to middle school students in Boston local public schools. After college, she joined Breakthrough NYC, a nonprofit that transforms the lives of talented students from low-income backgrounds by providing educational support from middle school through college, where she coached and supported freshmen during their first year in high school. During the summer, Joscary and a few colleagues launched a tutoring organization called Summer Glide, in an effort to prevent summer slide and support local public school families with free tutoring and readiness for the school year.

She grew up in New York City and is excited to become a DC resident. Joscary holds a BA in Communications from Boston College and an MA in Teaching from the Relay Graduate School of Education. During her free time she likes to travel, try new restaurants, and spend time with friends and family.

Stephanie joined Van Ness during the 2019-2020 school year. She started teaching 13 years ago in Atlanta through Teach for America. Since then, Stephanie has taught K-5 as a founding teacher at Excel Academy, at dual language schools, and a turnaround school in the District. Throughout Stephanie’s teaching career, Stephanie has served as a member of the Chancellor’s Teacher Cabinet, Flamboyan Home Visit Trainer, Teaching for Change Telling Stories Participant, and Girls on the Run Coach. Stephanie believes in developing strong relationships with families while fostering independence and critical thinking within her students. Stephanie holds a BA in Psychology and Government and Law from Lafayette College and MA in Early Childhood Education from American University. In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys biking, gardening, and cooking.

Bio coming soon!