About Lena Fishman, Founder

Lena is a special education teacher who has taught children of all ages with a wide range of learning needs for over 20 years. She received her bachelor’s degree from New York University in psychology and education, and has a master’s degree in elementary and secondary special education from Bank Street College of Education in New York.

Lena has taught in New York City public schools, the American International School system and leading private schools in the United States. She has led numerous professional development seminars, speaking on topics ranging from creating differentiated curriculum to effective classroom management strategies.

Lena realized that a common thread among her students who made the most academic progress was parents who were actively engaged at reinforcing learning at home. Lena founded Koala Coach to teach parents how to integrate simple, playful learning environments into busy schedules. Lena’s method, the Pouch Approach, was inspired by nature’s design of the koala’s pouch: a system that allows a parent to care for a child’s needs while going about daily activity.

As a mom of two young boys, Lena knows that it’s not easy for parents to find the time to work on reading and math skills with their children. And that the precious time parents do have with their children doesn’t need to be spent drilling multiplication tables and vocabulary words.

Lena’s goal with Koala Coach is to make parenting easier and help children achieve success in school as confident, engaged learners.