Meet Stefanie Greenberg of Creative Learning Studio in Brentwood

I first became an educator in 1991, after attending graduate school at the UCLA School of Education. I loved teaching immediately, and my first job was a dream! I had only nine students in my classroom in Hollywood, many of whom were not native English speakers. Because of the diverse needs of the group, I had to dive right into differentiating the curriculum, in order to provide each student with what they needed. With the unusually small class size, I was able to get to know these students and their learning processes very well. Individualizing their education, and helping these students discover their individual strengths, set the trajectory for what I wanted in my career. As the years went by, I realized that many of the students I worked with had undiagnosed learning differences, and I continually found myself reaching out to help the students (in other classrooms, as well), who had the most difficulties in school. Being in a classroom was creative and fun, and I loved constantly learning about my craft.

Throughout the last 25 years, I’ve been fortunate to raise my family while continuing to grow as an educator. While raising my three children with my husband, Jonathan, I continued teaching in different arenas through job-sharing, and had incredible, gifted mentors along the way. Shirley Levine, the late founder of Heschel Day School, taught me so much about differentiating instruction. I also continued my love of learning by constantly taking education courses, and staying up to date on the latest best-practice educational techniques.

Over ten years ago, I was hired and trained to work as a Learning Specialist at Sasha Bornstein’s Kelter Center. Through this invaluable training, and subsequent training in Educational Therapy at UC Riverside and Cal State Northridge, I accumulated more educational techniques to work with students with all types of learning differences. I found that being a Learning Specialist was a perfect fit for me, and I soaked up everything I could in the field of Educational Therapy. Working one-on-one with students was a joy!

These experiences encouraged me to open my own business, and to create my own program of individualized education to “fill in the gaps” that my students so desperately needed. I named my business Creative Learning Studio because, although my employees and I are trained and experienced in many specific learning programs, I believe there is no one “cookie-cutter” solution for each student.

It’s incredible to connect with individual students, to build relationships and to create customized educational plans and goals for each of them. Witnessing each student’s individual growth makes me so happy and fulfilled. Watching our students blossom and become more confident learners is absolutely incredible.Today, my practice has grown to include five part-time Educational Specialists. In addition to my own work with students, I love sharing my expertise and knowledge with other teachers. While we do help students with classwork, the majority of our session time consists of using research-based, best-practice programs, individually tailored to each student’s needs. I love what I do, and feel incredibly fortunate to work with so many outstanding families, schools, and allied professionals in the Los Angeles area.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Amazingly, it has been a remarkably smooth road and a wonderful adventure! I have an incredible support system, and received such positive feedback early on, that I never doubted the value of what I was doing.

Please tell us about Creative Learning Studio.
Creative Learning Studio is a place where students can come and be themselves. Often, students who have struggled in school are guarded and feel insecure about themselves and their capabilities. We care deeply about to the students we work with, and I think they feel that. I love how students come bouncing through our doors, some even at 7:00 a.m.! Our students see that Creative Learning Studio is a place to actually make mistakes and not feel “stressed” or under academic pressure. It’s beautiful to see how the encouragement we give these students, in tandem with differentiated and remedial instruction, can really help turn things around.

Some of the areas Creative Learning Studio specializes in are dyslexia, reading comprehension, organization, executive functioning, and writing. We work with students aged 5-20, (and some adults, as well), and are involved in ongoing continuing education courses in reading comprehension, reading fluency, decoding, writing, time management, executive functioning, study skills and test-taking strategies.  Our team approach is crucial, and to that end, I really enjoy connecting with parents and other teachers and allied professionals in the student’s life.

Overall, our Creative Learning Studio team celebrates individual differences, builds upon student’s strengths, and provides tools and strategies that enable each student to thrive. I treasure the connections I’ve made with my colleagues in the Los Angeles community. It’s also wonderful to work in other venues, and I enjoy speaking at schools, leading teacher trainings, and sharing experiences with parents at various school events.

What were you like growing up?
I grew up in the Los Angeles area – surrounded by a close family – and I lived the life of a typical Los Angeles kid… listening to records with friends, hanging out in iconic L.A. places like Beverlywood Kiddie Park, and later, Osco’s disco (both now the Beverly Center). I wasn’t into sports at all – but I did a lot of reading and writing! In fact, I wrote my first “newspaper” at the age of 7 and distributed it to the neighborhood. I’m not sure how many neighbors actually read the paper, but I did love “publishing” the issues on my (non-electric) typewriter! My father was a magazine publisher, and my great-grandfather was a printer (after he immigrated to the U.S. from Russia), so I think my love of language and the written word must be in my blood!

I was always social, (evidenced by school positions like “Historical Parliamentarian” and “Commissioner of Communications”) and my friendships mean a lot to me. I’m fortunate to have so many long-time friendships that have spanned decades.  Growing up, I spent my weekends tanning at the beach (Santa Monica, Station 9), eating late-night meals at Pages and Dupar’s coffee shops, and roller-skating around the neighborhood.