KIPP Philly Teacher Spotlight: Casey Kuznetsov

Casey Kuznetsov is a Special Education Teacher for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students at KIPP Philadelphia Elementary Academy (KPEA). She began teaching with KIPP 3 years ago as a 3rd Grade Special Education Inclusion Teacher, and this is her 7th year teaching overall.

Casey grew up in Downingtown, PA in Chester County with a family of educators. She shares, “Ever since I was in elementary school, I always knew I wanted to grow up and be a teacher. My grandmother was the math department chair at Radnor High School. I was always inspired by her to go into teaching. She loved teaching. In my family we have 4 female teachers, so it’s in our blood!”

Special Education, from Casey’s perspective, is about collaborating with children and families, finding strengths and making progress with students in their educational career. “What I love about being a Special Education Teacher is finding the true strengths in each one of my kiddos. I use their strengths to build their educational plan. For our families, we always answer the question of ‘how can I make sure my child is making progress?’ This means identifying strengths, then creating academic and emotional goals, services, and plans for their child to ensure short term and long-term growth.”

She explains how KPEA’s School Leader, Ivana Gasiorowski, and KPEA’s Assistant Principal of Student Support, Samantha Freeman truly listen to input and ideas from teachers and utilize their feedback to continuously improve the school’s Special Education program. She shared examples that illustrate how her school and their team “focus on the needs of all our students.

We have saying, ‘All of our kids are all of our kids’ and that is exemplified and truly lived each day” She says that at KIPP Philly, all teachers are invested in ensuring children’s IEPs are executed well and all children succeed, regardless of their starting point or learning needs.

In her spare time, Casey loves spending time with her husband and their family for dinners, weekend get togethers, and family trips to Florida and the Delaware beaches. She currently resides in Bucks County, PA with her husband of 2 years, Kon.