Liem Tran

Liem Tran is a Math teacher at Orthopedic Hospital Medical Magnet High School. I was born in Vietnam and came to the United States with my family at the age of 9. I attended high school at the California Academy of Math and Science. I graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor's Degree in Applied Mathematics and then received my trainings from the school's Teacher Education Program. I received my National Board Certification for Adolescent and Young Adults Mathematics in 2012. I have spent my entire 10-year teaching career in the Los Angeles Unified School District working with urban communities and socially disadvantaged student populations. I am currently a Math for America Master Teacher's Fellow, a grant that provides me additional time and resources outside the classroom to improve school-wide achievement in mathematics.

I have been an advocate for the development and implementation of a structured Financial Literacy Program at our school. For the past few years, I worked with my administration to create a Financial Literacy Program that empower our students to make informed financial decisions as well as strengthen and establish behaviors that lead to increased future incomes, better management and protection of assets, and effective use of financial services. Through these efforts, I was a recipient as the New York Stock Exchange Teachers Fellowship in 2011 and their Graduate Fellowship Program in 2012. I spent time at the Exchange learning about Financial Markets and ways I can incorporate them into my classroom practices. It also connected me with the California Council for Economics Education, where I have learned about new approaches to integrate economic and financial literacy into my classes. I also participated in the 'Training of Writers Program: Math in the Real World.' The program was designed for instructors to incorporate economics and personal finance concepts into my high school math lessons.

My teaching philosophy is guided by the idea that all students are capable of learning. I believe that each student, regardless of their background, should have an equal access to a quality education. As a teacher, I strive to ensure that my classroom environment, pedagogy, and curriculum are accessible for all my students. My strengths include creating culturally relevant pedagogy and being able to differentiate to meet the needs of diverse student groups. Having grown up in the inner-city myself, I empathize with the challenges that my students face on a daily basis. This drives me to continually improve to keep creating positive changes in my students and their community.