Colleen Markowitz, M.Ed

Founder & Director
Credentialed Reading & Literacy Specialist
Credentialed Teacher

Colleen Markowitz has always had a love for teaching and a fondness for working with children. She is fully committed to providing exceptional service to her students, their families, and her team.

With almost twenty years of teaching experience, she has had the opportunity to work in various academic settings, with all grade levels, and is extremely familiar with the curriculum and instruction presented in both private and public schools of Orange County. In addition to her educational experience, Colleen has also had the pleasure of working with individuals with learning and developmental disabilities.

With her extensive experience in education and reading instruction (specifically, the Science of Reading), she strongly believes that every child has the capability to learn.

With a background strongly influenced by her dedication and love for education and young minds, CLASS Academics was born. Colleen was drawn to establishing CLASS Academics in 2012 to assist and motivate children of all ages to help them attain self-confidence and growth in academics.

Colleen is a fellow parent and keeps busy with three young children. She and her husband enjoy taking the family out on nature walks, playing pinball, and making ice cream. Colleen loves live music, writing, painting with watercolors, floral arranging, and has an extensive collection of children’s literature the she loves to share with her children and students.

Laura Berman, M.Ed

Credentialed Teacher
In-Person Academic Instructor
Reading Certificate

Laura Berman is an experienced elementary teacher and very much enjoys getting to know and watching her students succeed. A talented and kind educator, Laura understands the importance of providing a tailored education. Laura has been with CLASS Academics for over five years and has been an integral part of our team.

During her free time, she loves reading, doing jigsaw puzzles, and taking care of her plants. She is very close with her family and looks forward to her daughter’s wedding this summer.

Caitlyn Tran, B.A.

In-Person Academic Instructor
Single subject credential (in progress)

From a young age, Ms. Caitlyn knew that she wanted to stay in the classroom beyond her own educational journey. She was always assigned to be the student in the class that helped out her own peers on various subjects throughout her educational career—from reminding her classmates of their letter sounds in kindergarten to demonstrating how to derive a geometric theorem during her freshmen year in high school.

After gaining two degrees in Education Sciences and History from UCI in three years, Ms. Caitlyn is now pursuing her Single Subject Teaching Credential at CSULB.

In her free time, she can always be found with a book in her hand and spending time with her partner and dog, Loki.

Candee Corwin, M.A.

Foundational Literacy & Math
Academic Instructor

Ms. Candee loves getting to know her students and their families! She believes that a caring relationship is central to generating positive outcomes. Candee delights in seeing her students eager to learn and blooming with newfound confidence, and values what her students teach her. The uniqueness of each learner drives instruction and informs the pace, methods, and materials used to optimize the learning experience.

Candee holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and master’s degree in Child and Adolescent Literacy from Loyola Marymount University, supplemented by graduate studies in psychology and counseling. She has provided academic and emotional support as a teacher, tutor, counselor, and coordinator of a reading intervention program for elementary students.

Ms. Candee is a deeply soulful and contemplative person who is nourished in the beauty and solitude of nature. She thrives outdoors in fresh air and quiet places. She enjoys walking, hiking, camping, swimming, biking, bodysurfing, kayaking, and writing. Candee is excited to join the CLASS Academics family and journey with her students wherever they take her!

Heather Silva, B.A.

Curriculum Specialist
Online Academic InstructoR

Heather Silva has over 10 years of working with children in both a afterschool program and classroom setting. She led the Boys and Girls Club of Huntington Beach's afterschool kindergarten program for 4 years and was a teacher's assistant at a private school for 5 years.

CLASS Academics has been a constant in her life for over 6 years, where she has tutored preschool-aged children, college-level adults, and everything in between. Heather loves teaching because she loves to inspire students to achieve their best and offer them a safe place to make mistakes and grow from them. She has always loved working for CLASS because she appreciated the quality and attention to detail all tutors who are employed there give their students!

On a personal note, Heather is an avid cat and anime lover. In her free time, you can find her playing video games either on her PC or other consoles, watching anime, making custom cards, or playing the piano.

Arlene Valencia, M.Ed

Credentialed Special Education Teacher
Online Academic Instructor

Arlene Valencia has been in the field of education for nearly 10 years. She started off as an intervention specialist in the special education department, and then went back to school to pursue her M.S. in Education with a concentration in Special Education. Although she pursued a dual credential, her passion is working with students with mild/moderate disabilities.

Although she has been out of the classroom for two years now because she gave birth to her first child, she still wants to continue to make a difference in students lives.

Arlene is excited to work at CLASS for a second year now as she wants to continue to help students reach their highest academic potential.

Arianne Labrecque, B.S.

Academic Instructor
graduate student in speech-language pathology

Arianne (Air-ee-anne) is a current graduate student at California State University Long Beach studying Speech-Language Pathology. Arianne has been a tutor since she was a junior in high school, helping students in kindergarten through 12th grade in math! Arianne has recently worked with children ages 4-11 working on various speech and language goals, as well as adults with neurogenic conditions regaining their reading and writing skills. 

Arianne enjoys learning languages, English being her second after French and now proficient in Spanish. Arianne is excited to be a part of the team at CLASS Academics and continue to help students with various academic skills.

Yamilet Herbert-Perez, B.A.

Academic Instructor
SINGLE SUBJECT CREDENTIAL (IN PROGRESS)

At a young age, Yamilet (Yam-ee-let) knew she wanted a career in education. She always looked forward to learning and helping out her classmates whenever she could. In the past and in her current experience in the classroom, she enjoys getting to know her students and helping them build skills to enhance their learning experience.

She earned her bachelor's degree in English from Cal State University Fullerton, and she is currently in her last semester in CSUF’s Single Subject Credential Program. She looks forward to working and expanding her educational role at CLASS Academics. 

In her free time, she loves to spend time with her family, go on new adventures, spend time with her two Shih Tzu dogs (Joey and Lana), and reading. One of her favorite personal accomplishments was reading 150 books last year in 2023. 

Carina Assayed, M.A.

Office Manager
Credentialed Teacher
Professor of secondary Education

Carina Assayed is an experienced secondary ELA educator as well as a current professor of secondary education at California State University of Fullerton. Since she was a kindergartener herself, she knew she wanted to be a teacher, and she has since made those dreams come true through 8+ years of ongoing work in education.

Now, she looks forward to expanding her educational support through her role at CLASS Academics, where she is excited to learn from and work with esteemed educators and incredible learners.

When she is not "living and breathing" all-things-education, you can find Carina reading--she has read over 100+ books two years in a row now and loves sharing book recommendations--snuggling her dog, or cooking.