Our team
Because of the small size of our school at this time, our team consists of two experienced educators- Ann Gradman and Christina Faccas. Both Ann and Christina are part of our founding team at The Academy. Together they serve extraordinary children with Dyslexia, ADHD and Non-Traditional Learners at The Academy NJ in Holmdel, NJ.
Ann Gradman - Founding Executive Director
Ann is the Founding Executive Director at The Academy NJ. As you will quickly realize after meeting her, Ann’s love and passion for children is unmatched. Ann has taught for 20 years in a variety of educational settings. She discovered her specific path in teaching after realizing that she wasn’t adquetely prepared to serve all of her students.
Ann set out to learn more about dyslexia and her journey into the world of Structured Literacy began. Ann learned about the benefits of multi-sensory reading instruction and she became trained in the Wilson Reading Program. In 2009, she received her Wilson certification and she has been using the program with dyslexic students ever since!
Our Team is enrolling 2nd - 8th grade students now for this and next school year! We are a specialized accredited School for Children with Dyslexia, ADHD, and Non-Traditional Learners, located in Holmdel, NJ.
In addition to being a certified dyslexia practitioner, Ann is a trained executive function coach. Many of her neurodiverse students have ADHD and/or executive dysfunction. Ann believes that the demands placed upon students are often beyond their current executive age (30% younger for students with ADHD). She maintains that in the rush to teach content, schools often skip over essential life skills such as organization, time management, and planning.
Ann thoroughly enjoys supporting students in their development of executive function skills in order to help them seize opportunities and have a happy life! Ann has a BA in History from Colgate University and an MA in Reading and Learning Disabilities from New York University. She is NJ State certified in Special Education, Elementary Education, Reading and she has administrator certification as a Supervisor.
Our Team is enrolling 2nd - 8th grade students now for this and next school year! We are a specialized accredited School for Children with Dyslexia, ADHD, and Non-Traditional Learners, located in Holmdel, NJ.
Christina Faccas
Christina has four older sisters that gave her a total of 8 beautiful nieces and nephews who are her world. She first became an aunt at the age of 13. Her oldest sister has microcephally, and she made Christina a huge part of who she is today. Ever since she was little she wanted to be a teacher and make an impact on children’s lives.
Our Team is enrolling 2nd - 8th grade students now for this and next school year! We are a specialized accredited School for Children with Dyslexia, ADHD, and Non-Traditional Learners, located in Holmdel, NJ.
Christina received her Associates Degree in education at Brookdale Community College. She played softball for two years while attending Brookdale. After Brookdale, she decided to further her education at Kean University, where she made the Deans List and graduated with high honors and a BA in Elementary and Secondary Education with a concentration in Mathematics. Christina enjoys serving the extraordinary children with Dyslexia, ADHD and Non-Traditional Learners at The Academy NJ in Holmdel, NJ.
Our Team is enrolling 2nd - 8th grade students now for this and next school year! We are a specialized accredited School for Children with Dyslexia, ADHD, and Non-Traditional Learners, located in Holmdel, NJ.
Karen Liang
Hi my name is Karen Liang. I'm a new teacher here at The Academy NJ and I am so excited to meet you and work with your child(ren)!
I'm originally from New York and have taught for over 10 years. 7 years in which I specialized working with students with learning disabilities, dyslexia, and ADHD in physical education and academic settings. You can say, I was the teacher that wore many hats. With the time and experiences I have taught, my philosophy is that I believe all students have the ability to learn and succeed given the right tools, patience, motivation, and guidance. Each one of them are bright and unique regardless of limitations.
On top of encouraging students to be active individuals both physically and mentally, I personally also enjoy staying active and taking on challenges like training in martial arts, finding crafty projects to tackle, and gardening to name a few. I would love to learn more about your child(ren) and their interests/hobbies as well over the course of the year!
Our Team is enrolling 2nd - 8th grade students now for this and next school year! We are a specialized accredited School for Children with Dyslexia, ADHD, and Non-Traditional Learners, located in Holmdel, NJ.