Mario Benabe

Author | Educator | Speaker | Consultant | School Leader

Bronx, New York, United States

About

Mario Benabe is an Ethno-mathematician, public intellectual, author, school leader, social justice activist and creator of Do-The-Right-Thing-Pedagogy, a framework for teaching and learning that decolonizes STEM education.

Experience

  • Founder at Wildflower New York Charter School
    Jan 2019 - Present · 7 yrs 6 mos

    Wildflower New York Charter School are teacher-led, neighborhood nested, culturally and linguistically diverse Montessori educational programs. WNYCS is the first public Montessori program in NY State. WNYCS is authorized by SUNY Charter School Institute. ● Lead Primary Montessori Guide. ● Designing a culturally relevant / sustaining enriched prepared environment.

  • Contractor at Wildflower Schools
    Jan 2018 - Present · 8 yrs 6 mos

    Have served as a contractor with the following roles and responsibilities: ● Curriculum Innovation project: Designing Culturally Sustaining / Relevant Montessori Material. ● Supported in the Pre-k4 Charter RFP. ● Supported in the development of Wildflower New York Charter School. ● Community Engagement for the NY Hub.

  • Founding STEM Educator at South Bronx Community Charter High School
    Aug 2016 - Jan 2018 · 1 yr 6 mos

    Served as the Founding Math Teacher Specializing in Ethno-Mathematics. Developed an Afrocentric and Indigenous Project Based Learning (PBL) experience designed to foster a Pro Black/Brown Learning (PBL) outcomes. ● Integrated Reality Pedagogy and Hip-Hop Education into the curriculum. ● Grounded the algebra curriculum through an Ethomathematics approach. ● Used a PBL lens to guide students to design their own lesson plan, developed instruction and effectively Co-Taught among their peers using a culturally relevant/sustaining teaching as pedagogical framework. ● Designed rituals in our STEM Learning Environment around concepts of empathy and harmony. ● Organized the Black Lives Matter Youth Coalition.

  • Math Specialist, Special Education Teacher at NYC Department of Education
    Sep 2014 - Jun 2016 · 1 yr 10 mos

    Served as the Math Specialist, Special Education Teacher at the Bronx River High School in the Integrated Algebra, Common Core Algebra and Geometry courses. Facilitated instruction in General Education, ICT and Self-Contained settings. ● Provided educational services to students with diverse learning needs in an ICT and Self-Contained settings. ● Involved students in the complete process of planning and developing their Individualized Educational Plans. ● Integrated Reality Pedagogy and Hip-Hop Based Education into the curriculum. ● Lesson planned, developed instruction and effectively Co-Taught with students through Reality Pedagogy. ● Created a community-based health instructional curriculum Spring of 2015.

  • Geometry Instructor at Harlem Village Academy High School at Harlem Village Academies
    Jun 2015 - Aug 2015 · 3 mos

    Served in the Mathematics Department developing a unique Hip-Hop Education curriculum in Geometry. The course was designed to empower students by providing them a space where elements in their daily lives are activated in the classroom as a way tap into their mind and inspire true change within the collective group. ● Utilized the tools of Hip Hop Education to drive Reality Pedagogy in order to motion through a multi-directional model that places students in a position to plan, develop and educate each other through a cosmopolitanism approach. ● Cultivated a classroom that acknowledges the beauty where students come from as a community and use that as a way to teach and learn from one another about geometry. ● Introduced activities that truly taps into the mind of the youth emotion and use that as a way to drive instruction. ● Delivered the geometry curriculum aligned to NY Common Core State Standards.