"Making A Difference In Education Together"
Mathew J. Zagami/CEO, Consultant
"Making A Difference In Education Together"
Mathew J. Zagami/CEO, Consultant
About The Center for Teacher & Parent Support
Our Story
Our story started 15 years ago, when Mathew J. Zagami commenced providing consulting services in New York City Schools after having served as a teacher and administrator for 35 years. Most recently Matt has branched out; starting his own consulting firm...The Center for Teacher & Parent Support.
As an approved NYC DOE and Nassau BOCES Vendor, The Center for Teacher & Parent Support, is passionate about providing high-quality professional development and parent engagement experiences at all educational levels, throughout the metropolitan area. To that end, we have retained a team of NYC administrators well versed in any topic you can identify. All of our consultants are recently retired New York State/New York City certified educators serving the needs of educators and parents as they strive to meet the instructional, social, and emotional needs of their children.
Our Mission
Our mission is to empower educators and parents with the knowledge and skills needed to educate "the whole child". We strive to foster ongoing relationships with school communities so children can ultimately achieve their full potential.
Our Approach
We believe that learning should be engaging, interactive, and fun. To that end, we have developed a series of teacher and parent workshops designed to empower teachers and parents with the tools they need to assist youngsters as they strive to internalize learning standards currently in place. These sessions can take place on-site or virtually. Parent workshops can be presented in English, Spanish, and Chinese. We can also design custom workshops to meet specific needs. In addition, our consultants are equipped to provide on-site coaching with immediate feedback to both the teacher and administrator.
What Are They Saying About Us?
In Queens....
“Dr. Caterina DiTillio, of CTPS Consulting, provided an informative, professional development session on questioning and discussion techniques for our teachers working with English Language Learners. Her presentation and materials provided staff with effective strategies to engage ELLs at various proficiency levels.”
Ann Gallagher, Assistant Principal, PS012Q/District 24
Matt Zagami presented a series of 5 on-site parent workshops in both English and Spanish for our school community during the 2023-2024 academic year. We found his workshops to be both engaging and informative. We look forward to welcoming Matt back this school year."
Jenelle Frances, School Guidance Counselor, IS145Q/District 30
"Matt Zagami of CTPS Consulting provided a series of 7 parent workshops focused on a variety of topics and specifically designed to meet the needs of our parent and school community. The virtual workshops were presented in both, English and Spanish and proved to be engaging as well as very informative. The materials were current, and Matt made them readily available to share with our parent audience following the sessions. Additionally, teachers in our school participated in a professional development workshop presented by Matt aimed to provide staff with effective strategies to engage English Language Learners and enrich their educational outcomes. Our teachers and parents were very pleased, and we look forward to working with Matt in the upcoming school year."
Lisette Feldman, ENL Teacher, P.S.091Q /District 24
“With their outstanding professionalism and high-quality service, CTPS consultants have played a crucial role in meeting the needs of families in our school community.”
Camillo Turriciano, Principal, PS012Q/District 24
In Staten Island....
“CTPS Consulting worked seamlessly with our school to provide specific and personalized professional development tailored to our unique needs while enhancing teacher pedagogy. CTPS Consulting is highly recommended for its outstanding professional development workshops, which covered a wide range of topics including English language learners, student data analysis, parent engagement, goal setting, and MTSS. One-on-one coaching services were also provided and proved very effective for selected teachers.”
Lisa Esposito, Principal, PS008R/District 31
In Manhattan....
Matt Zagami hosted 3 parent workshops for the families in my school. Each workshop was well prepared. He provided families with effective strategies and resources to meet their needs. He even shared the pre-sentations with me so I could distribute them to the families that could not attend. I heavily recommend Matt and CTPS Consulting for your workshop needs.
Cesar Pagan, Parent Coordinator, PS165M/District 3
"Matt Zagami, of CTPS Consulting, conducted a number of teacher and parent workshops for us. He was always prepared and accommodating to our diverse school needs."
Cindy Wang, Principal, PS003M/District 3
In Brooklyn....
"Matt and Tina of CTPS Consulting were very motivating. They had plenty of resources. Our staff was quite pleased with their presentations. We’ve had them back over a number of years. They’ve done staff and parent presentations, in ELL and homework planning for parents. CTPS is fantastic."
John Barbella, Principal, IS 347/District 32
Veena Veeramah, Assistant Principal, IS201K/District 20
"I have had the pleasure of working with Matt Zagami and CTPS consultants for many years. I find them to be an invaluable resource, with a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience of the educational landscape. Their expertise spans various areas, including Curriculum Development, New Teacher Development & Implementation, The Science of Reading, Institutional Evaluation and Family Engage-ment. Their commitment to a personalized approach, is their greatest trait. Without fail, they listen attentively to our concerns and needs, then develop a tailored plan that is not only insightful and actionable but ensures the recommended strategies align with our school goals and district’s priorities."
Dr. Ed Hernandez, EdD, MBA, Principal , JHS227K/District 20
In The Bronx....
ON THE WAY!
meet our growing family of ctps consultants
Luisa Travaglia
Luisa Travaglia is a firm believer that every student has the potential to succeed. She has over 25 years of teaching, coaching and mentoring experience both with the NYC DOE and Long Island School Districts. She has worked for CTPS as an Education Consultant for the past 7 years where she has designed and presented teacher and parent workshops. She is committed to providing classroom teachers, professional staff, and parents with the most current and extensive support to help all students. Luisa understands the importance of providing all students with the academic language development they need, while still honoring their home languages. She offers professional development to colleagues on best practices and curriculum changes.
Stella Kostopoulos
Stella Kostopoulos has worked for and with the NYC Department of Education for over 35 years in various capacities. She began her career as classroom teacher of ELLS. Drawing from her experience as an ELL student helped her support her students with insights gained from her own challenges learning English, navigating a new country and becoming accustomed to different norms. Her desire to further support students and educators led her to become a Teacher Center Coach and an adjunct professor. Ten years of coaching teachers provided her with a solid foundation to become an administrator; enabling her to guide and support a school community full of students & parents that were a majority of English Language Learners. Since retiring from the NYCDOE, Stella has been working with CTPS, providing teachers and parents with workshops on various topics to facilitate their professional and personal growth.
Dr. Caterina DiTillio
Dr. Caterina DiTillio is an experienced NYC DOE teacher, administrator, and Network Leader; serving the metropolitan area for over 35 years. In addition, Dr. DiTillio currently provides support services beyond the confines of New York City. Most recently Dr. DiTillio has a demonstrated history of working in the education management industry as one of our most skilled consultants with expertise in K-12 Education, Literacy, Classroom Management, Lesson Planning, Educational Technology and meeting the needs of English Language Learners. In short, Dr. DiTillio is a strong information technology professional with a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) focused in Urban Education and Leadership from Fordham University.
meet our growing family of ctps consultants
Dr. Devin Thornburg
Dr. Devin Thornburg is a well respected teacher, administrator, professor and published author with over 30 years of experience in educational environments both nationally and internationally. In all of his professional life (in a variety of roles including teacher, psychologist, researcher, administrator, advisor), he has sought to create relationships built on trust and deep learning. He believes that all people learn every moment of their lives and that it is up to teachers to determine what they are learning, how they are learning, and to build from there. He believes that teachers must be learners, themselves. And finally, that they must have integrity and humility about everything they do. Too much time and destructive energy in teacher-learning is spent on ambition, protecting turf, and under minding other people. To accept one's frailty, too face it, is the first step away from this. It is always a painful but worthwhile journey.
Tina Stanisci
Tina Stanisci has served as a NYC teacher, administrator and educational consultant for the past 35 years. Her experience covers a variety of areas including classroom management, questioning techniques and helping teachers meet the needs of English language learners. In addition to presenting to and coaching teachers, Tina has provided a number of parent workshops addressing issues that parents are most interested in learning about. Her ability to present bilingually has resulted in increased parent involvement in every school she visits. In short, there is not a NYC teacher and/or administrator that has not asked to have Tina return for follow-up services.