--- title: "Meet Nereida Bucio Gómez | Elevate Learning Solutions" description: "29 years in education, from bilingual teacher to assistant principal to literacy coach. Now a certified Feuerstein mediator for learners of every age." url: https://elevatelearns.com/about/ lang: en-US alternate: es-US: https://elevatelearns.com/es/nosotros/ --- Meet your mediator # Mrs. Nereida Bucio Gómez Certified Feuerstein mediator and educational consultant > “Everyone has a story to tell.” With 29 years in education, from bilingual classroom teacher to assistant principal to literacy coach, I help learners of all ages find their voice and grow how they think through Feuerstein mediation. - 29 years in education - Bilingual instruction - Writing specialist [Book a free consultation](https://elevatelearns.com/book/) ![Mrs. Nereida Bucio Gómez, Certified Feuerstein mediator and educational consultant](https://elevatelearns.com/_astro/nereida-portrait.enkBVPyB_Z1zWIWX.jpeg) Mrs. Nereida Bucio Gómez Certified Feuerstein mediator and educational consultant Credentials ## Trained, certified and recognized - Master of Education University of St. Thomas, Houston · 2000 - Certified Feuerstein mediator Instrumental Enrichment, plus Texas certificates in Bilingual/ESL, Mathematics and school leadership - Statewide finalist, Bilingual Teacher of the Year Texas Association for Bilingual Education · 2008 Seven Teacher of the Year recognitions, 1998–2009, from her own school to the whole state See every degree, certification and honor Education - Master of Education in Supervision University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX · 2000 - Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education Mathematics specialization · University of St. Thomas · 1994 Certifications & training - Texas teaching certificates Mid-Management Administrator (PK–12), 2000 · Bilingual/ESL, grades 1–8, 1995 · Elementary Mathematics, grades 1–8, since 1995 - Methods and programs Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment (FIE) · Thinking Maps Trainer · Leader in Me Certified · Whole Brain Teaching - Writing instruction Abydos Writing Trained · Empowering Writers - Professional learning Professional Learning Communities · National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) conferences, 1997, 2001, 2004 Honors - Finalist, TABE Bilingual Teacher of the Year Texas Association for Bilingual Education · one of two finalists · 2008 - S.H.A.B.E. Bilingual Teacher of the Year 2008 - Spring ISD Bilingual Teacher of the Year Spring Independent School District - Northgate Bilingual Teacher of the Year Spring ISD · 2009 - Salyers Elementary Bilingual Teacher of the Year Spring ISD · 2008 - Macario García ESL Teacher of the Year Houston ISD · 1999–2000 - Macario García Bilingual Teacher of the Year Houston ISD · 1998–1999 Her journey ## One question, asked from every side of the school Why does a capable learner get stuck? She has asked it as a teacher, an assistant principal, a librarian and a coach. Each role showed her part of the answer. Mediation is where she puts them together, for one learner at a time. 1. Beginning of career ### Bilingual classroom teacher A child still learning English can already think in big ideas. 2. Spring ISD & Houston ISD ### Assistant principal A school is built for the average learner. Some need it built around them. 3. Spring ISD & Houston ISD ### Media specialist / librarian Every subject runs on reading. 4. 10 years · Spring ISD & Houston ISD ### Literacy coach When a reader stalls, the cause is usually underneath the reading. 5. Present ### Feuerstein mediator & educational consultant Everything she learned in schools, brought to one learner at a time. The Feuerstein philosophy ## Intelligence is not fixed. It can be developed at any age through mediated learning. That belief shapes everything we do. Rather than focusing only on what to learn, we help learners discover how to think. ![Professor Reuven Feuerstein in a beret and suit, talking in a sunlit garden beside a smiling young boy in a cap and glasses](https://elevatelearns.com/_astro/reuven-feuerstein-portrait.cUIK61nA_Z2qpRP8.jpeg) > “Chromosomes do not have the last word.” Reuven Feuerstein, 1921–2014 The method ### Who was Reuven Feuerstein? Professor Reuven Feuerstein (1921–2014) was an Israeli clinical, developmental and cognitive psychologist known for his theory that intelligence is modifiable. The Feuerstein story ## Proven where it was hardest. Now in classrooms everywhere. Feuerstein began with the learners the world had given up on. What worked for them now helps every kind of learner. Where it began · One learner at a time He worked first with the children others had written off: young survivors of war, and children labeled unteachable, including children with Down syndrome. Again and again, they learned to think in new ways. 1. 1921 ### Born in Botoșani, Romania One of nine children, he trains as a teacher in Bucharest until the war cuts his studies short. 2. 1945 ### Teaching the children who survived In what would become Israel, he teaches child survivors of the Holocaust, and sees how much the right attention can change a child’s path. 3. 1950s ### Doubting the tests Trained in Geneva under Jean Piaget and André Rey, he finds that children written off by IQ tests improve whenever someone works with them. 4. 1965 ### A research center in Jerusalem He founds the research unit that grows into today’s Feuerstein Institute. ![Professor Feuerstein, hand on a boy’s shoulder, talking him through an exercise sheet](https://elevatelearns.com/_astro/table.CqRu-oIW_15cmTR.jpeg) One-on-one, working through an exercise together. ![Professor Feuerstein sitting on a garden bench beside a small child](https://elevatelearns.com/_astro/bench.BygAMqom_Z2tvxfO.jpeg) Sitting with a young learner in the garden. ![Professor Feuerstein walking hand in hand with a young boy](https://elevatelearns.com/_astro/walk._RaBrMW-_ZEX5Cj.jpeg) Out for a walk, hand in hand with a young student. If it worked there,it could work anywhere. - countries 80+ - research studies 2,000+ - ages taught 3 to 90+ Your child doesn’t need a diagnosis to benefit. These are the thinking skills every learner uses. ![Professor Feuerstein teaching a class, beside a smiling girl holding a puzzle](https://elevatelearns.com/_astro/puzzle.Ij9Yzncy_Z2wjTi2.jpeg) With a student holding up her puzzle. Into every classroom · Schools and workplaces worldwide From that proof he built a program any trained teacher can use. Today it is taught in ordinary schools and workplaces, to preschoolers and professionals alike. 1. 1980 ### Instrumental Enrichment Published for classrooms: exercises that build the thinking every subject depends on. Nereida is certified in it. 2. 1992 ### The Israel Prize The country’s highest honor, for his work in the social sciences. 3. 2000 ### Starting younger FIE-Basic brings the method to children from 3 to 8. 4. Today ### Around the world Carried on by the Feuerstein Institute since his death in 2014, in more than 80 countries. 5. Tomorrow ### Your learner’s story Still to be written. It begins with a conversation about what you’ve noticed. [Start with a free consultation](https://elevatelearns.com/book/) - ![A full classroom of students in uniform reading at their desks, their teacher at the blackboard](https://elevatelearns.com/_astro/classroom-full.CNXpNGmM_Z24SLDx.jpeg) - ![A teacher reading with a small group of young children around a low table](https://elevatelearns.com/_astro/classroom-young.DV-1n-Hw_yai3J.jpeg) - ![Three boys working on tablets at a classroom table, one with his hand raised](https://elevatelearns.com/_astro/classroom-hands.i__nMT8b_x6U7E.jpeg) - ![Adults in a continuing-education class, listening and taking notes](https://elevatelearns.com/_astro/classroom-adults.Bs8J4q8T_1EHzVj.jpeg) Today it reaches classrooms around the world, from preschool to adult education. The method at work ## See the method explained [](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KOl3S5z-Ak) Channels 1. [The Feuerstein Method: Learning Through Mediation 4 min · An animated introduction, by Sprouts Now playing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KOl3S5z-Ak) 2. [Instrumental Enrichment 4 min · From the Feuerstein Institute, with English subtitles Now playing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv4p9xr31_c) 3. [Step Forward 16 min · Inside the Feuerstein Institute, with English subtitles Now playing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th9nw99Kw-4) Higher, brighter minds ## Let’s talk about your learner A free 30-⁠minute consultation: we talk about your learner and find a clear next step together. [Book a free consultation](https://elevatelearns.com/book/) Or call [(281) 253-2462](tel:+12812532462) One-on-one sessions: $95 in person, $80 on Zoom. Your first 30-⁠minute consultation is free, with no commitment. [Sessions & rates](https://elevatelearns.com/services/#rates) Prefer to write? [Tell us about your learner](https://elevatelearns.com/contact/#contact-form) Photo credits - Professor Feuerstein with a young boy Josharonson1 · Public domain · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ezriel_%26_prof_Feuerstein.JPG) - Archive photographs of Professor Feuerstein Feuerstein Institute - Students reading at their desks “[middle school class](https://www.flickr.com/photos/41087714@N00/250121794)” by Rex Pe · [CC BY 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) - A teacher reading with young children “[students-in-class-with-teacher-reading](https://www.flickr.com/photos/115089924@N02/12212474014)” by www.ilmicrofono.it · [CC BY 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) - Students working on tablets “[student_ipad_school - 175](https://www.flickr.com/photos/56155476@N08/6660098369)” by flickingerbrad · [CC BY 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) - An adult education class “[Continuing Studies](https://www.flickr.com/photos/45160304@N02/5404766001)” by SFU - Communications & Marketing · [CC BY 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)