A Teacher Named David

David is an accomplished composer, author, and philosopher who resides in Longmont, Colorado. Originally from Manhattan, he graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama and a double major in Music Production. After many fast-paced and incredible years in the music and theater industries, David moved west in search of a more nature-driven and solitudinous lifestyle, where he could root his creativity in stillness and purpose.

He later earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from MSU Denver in Special Education, where he received the Dr. Kathleen Luttenegger Master of Arts in Teaching Capstone Award for his research developing MENTEE-SS, a human-centered evolution of tiered systems of support grounded in mentorship, identity, and belonging. His work has since been published in the Journal of the Arts and Special Education, and he has presented on this framework at district and state conferences, with presentations at national conferences including the ABLE Assembly at Berklee College of Music and the Elevating Excellence Conference at the Colorado Department of Education. David also serves on Colorado’s Health Education Standards Review and Revision Committee, contributing to the development of statewide standards.

He now teaches Special Education at a local high school while continuing to privately mentor a few highly creative young minds across the Front Range of Colorado and abroad. David is deeply committed to cultivating meaningful relationships with students and colleagues, centering his work on academic engagement, social-emotional health, and identity development.

His passions include hiking, skiing, playing piano, writing, cooking, and being deeply present with the people he loves. Whether in the classroom or in the mountains, David believes deeply in the transformative power of connection, creativity, and learning that honors the whole Human.