Hi, my name for most of my life has been Shannon Smith and I recently got married and changed it to Shannon Klimavicius. I am a math and ELA summer instructor for grades K-4. When I’m not working I enjoy reading, hiking, cooking and doing yoga. I am passionate about helping kids love to learn and become enthusiastic about taking on challenges. 

I attended high school in a small town in Connecticut. I was on the varsity swim team and performed in my high school’s musicals. I had the opportunity to take AP English Language, AP English Literature, AP Spanish, AP Psychology, AP Statistics and AP Calculus. From a young age, my teachers inspired me to love learning and thanks to their hard work I now consider myself a lifelong learner. 

After high school, I attended St. John’s University in Queens and received a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. During college, I became involved in community service, including mentoring incoming freshmen, and tutoring. As part of my senior project, I worked with a team of other students to fundraise for and plan an event at a local nursing home. Our project was featured on New York 1’s “New Yorker of the Week” segment. 

After college, I worked full time in marketing and Public Relations. I also coached swimming during the evenings. About one year later, I applied for a teaching fellowship and began teaching full time and attending graduate school for education full time. I received my Master’s in Childhood and Special Education from Touro College in 2014. After making this switch, I finally looked forward to going to work each morning.  

I have been working as a teacher in schools in Brooklyn and Queens for the past 7 years. I currently work as a teacher at a charter school in Jamaica, Queens. I love my job as a teacher. My favorite part of teaching is watching kids have that “light bulb” moment where something they have been working on finally clicks. I strongly believe that all kids are capable of achieving high goals if they are appropriately challenged and nurtured. I also think it is extremely important to get to know students personally and build relationships with families. It takes a team to make sure kids are motivated and continually learning. I truly look forward to working with Tip Top Brain’s students and play a role in their journey as learners.