About

My name is Ryan Derham and I love reading, spending time with my dog, Clove, sewing, and of course, teaching!  My preferred pronouns are she/her/hers.

This is my 3rd year working at AoA. You may have known me previously as a 2nd grade teacher! I made the move to 5th grade because I wanted to specialize in math, science, and technology. My belief is that we should teach math in the way mathematicians practice it. I am committed to helping students engage in academic math discussion and problem solving, improve their mental math skills, and apply math to their everyday lives.

I graduated from Goucher College in Maryland with a B.A. in Sociology. After working with kids for many years, I decided to get my M.A. in Education from U.C. Berkeley. A fun fact about me is that I played Division 3 tennis for 4 years at Goucher College. I still love playing tennis and even started my teaching career as a tennis coach for elementary-aged kids.

My main goal as a math, science, and technology teacher is to provide students with skills to give them confidence as they approach challenging math and help them make connections to prior math knowledge. I also do a lot of instruction in technology to help students make presentations, conduct research, and share what they know with their community. I love connecting what we are doing in the classroom to ways that we can help our community.

I also love AoA's commitment to equitable instruction. We are always problem-solving as a team and figuring out the best way to reach students. Everyone's commitment inspires me to think in new ways to provide a fun, engaging, and safe educational atmosphere.

The best way to contact me is email (rderham@aoaschools.org). Please click the email button above to send a message.