Andrew Gallagher

Andrew Gallagher is an award winning educator, staff-developer, and teacher, currently working in New York City.

Andrew started his teaching career in the United Kingdom, when he graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1998. His first teaching position was at The Marches School and Technology College in Oswestry, Shropshire. His roles included that of Design Technology teacher, Year 7 assistant, Assistant Head of Year 7, NQT Professional Mentor, and Trainee Teacher Mentor. He was also jointly responsible for after-school programs under the banner of "The Half Four club".

After four highly successful years at The Marches, he moved to Leeds where he taught at Boston Spa School. Again, Andrew was primarily a Design Technology teacher, but was quickly promoted to a senior teacher within the school's 6th Form College. Here, he was responsible for the Key Skills component of the 16-19 curriculum.

By 2003, he was eager to experience new challenges in education, and answered an advertisement to interview with the New York City Department of Education. He attended an interview in London, and was offered a position to teach in New York City. By August of this year, he had left England, and began working in NYC.

His first year in New York was spent teaching at Louis Armstrong Middle School (LAMS) in East Elmhurst, Queens. Due to budgeting issues however, Andrew was "excessed" in 2004. Excessing is a process whereby teachers in the New York City public school system are no longer required at a specific school, and so are placed within a central system to be deployed elsewhere in the city.

During the summer of 2004, he was working for the recruitment office of the NYC Department of Education, facilitating the induction of new international teachers. As part of the summer induction program, new international teachers attend job fairs to be placed in a school. Andrew was assisting the office of recruitment to place new teachers, but still without a school himself. One of the attending principals at a job fair required a Technology teacher, but none of the new teachers were certified in this area. As a result, Andrew interviewed and was offered a position at a new middle school in the Bronx, called Bronx Writing Academy.

Bronx Writing Academy (BWA) was created out of the need to split an existing school (MS 22) due it being deemed an "Impact" school. Impact schools are part of a New York Citywide initiative bringing extra resources, including security guards, to the city's most dangerous schools. Andrew was appointed as the Technology teacher for BWA, which opened it's doors in September of 2004.

By January 2005, Andrew had been approached to start an after-school program called MOUSE Squad, which had already been successful across the city. MOUSE Squad is a program designed to empower students through training in technical issues, with the aim of allowing them to operate a helpdesk of their own, at the school level. In less than 6 months, Andrew had led his MOUSE Squad to be one of the top 3 programs in the Bronx, and data from his program was used to develop further initiatives throughout the Bronx. In addition, his school was selected to participate in the making of a DVD, to be shown at the annual MOUSE Squad conference in New York City.

The following year, Andrew's MOUSE Squad program continued to gain recognition, and was awarded MOUSE Squad of the Year, 2006. This outstanding achievement recognized the stellar efforts of Andrew and his students, who had contributed to the technology infrastructure of BWA, and helped spur a growth in technology integration throughout all subjects taught at the school. The same year, Andrew, his MOUSE Squad students, and the school principal were further honored with a proclamation from Bronx Borough President, Adolfo Carrión Jr.

On October 24, 2006, the media, representatives from the Department of Education, and MOUSE Squad students past and present gathered to witness the Borough President proclaim this date in history, Bronx Writing Academy MOUSE Squad day.

In 2007, Andrew applied, and was accepted to attend the Google Teacher Academy, which recognized outstanding educators in the field of Technology Education. Andrew is now a "Google Certified Teacher" and will provide training and resources to teachers in various aspects of technology tools, including those developed by Google.

On March 30, 2007, Andrew provided testimony to the New York City Council. The council, under the leadership of Gail Brewer, had established a Broadband Advisory Committee, in an effort to close the Digital Divide present throughout New York City. Andrew was approached to testify, as an educator, working in one of the most undeserved regions of the city.

Andrew continues to increase the integration of technology within BWA, and is a passionate believer in the need to close the Digital Divide not only through the provision of affordable equipment, but also through relevant and meaningful resources made available to every student, and teacher.