As a graduate of Ridgefield Park Jr. - Sr. High School, Nataly Granaturova-Riera earned a Bachelor's degree in Public Accounting with a minor in Business Administration from Fordham University, Gabelli School of Business. After a successful career as an auditor in the financial industry, she followed her dream of becoming a teacher. In 2021, she obtained a Master's degree in Special Education and Learning from Rowan University. Three years later Nataly earned her second Master's degree in School Administration. Currently, she is eager to continue learning in a Doctoral program for Educational Leadership, while serving in her new role as a Mathematics Department Chairperson.

Nataly is committed to improving achievement and advancing equity for all students. She has dedicated almost 20 years to providing access to a rigorous math curriculum and high quality math instruction that is equitably available to all students. Her personal goals have always been to empower all students in becoming confident, competent, and independent problem solvers as well as having them learn to appreciate mathematics. 

Throughout her chosen career, Nataly has served as a Math Coach, Algebra I Teacher, Algebra II, Geometry Teacher, Grade 6-8 Middle School Teacher of Mathematics, Math Interventionist, and Math Resource Teacher positions. In addition, she has taught in Abbott, as well as Blue Ribbon school districts.  Her experience includes working with diverse groups of students in urban and suburban settings.  

Over the course of her teaching career, Nataly assisted two middle schools in exiting Target School status and an elementary school in meeting the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP). As a classroom teacher at Dover Middle School, Nataly was instrumental in writing the Scope and Sequence and the Curriculum for middle school level math courses. She also pioneered the use of technology to enhance student learning by utilizing graphing calculators and laptops in all math courses (college prep, advanced, and honors classes). Inspired by the evolving (and her favorite) Connected Mathematics program, Nataly became the first teacher in her department to incorporate performance-based math assessments for students to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and learned concepts. 

While working in Maplewood Middle School, she introduced her students to virtual math manipulatives and focused on solidifying their understanding of taught concepts using visual representations and math models. After conducting extensive research on the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and attending workshops on Blended Learning outside her district, Nataly initially wrote math lessons using the UDL for her graduate class at Rowan University. Drawing on her prior experiences and research, she began to implement the UDL in her math classes. 

Under Nataly's leadership, Hillcrest Elementary School was able to meet the AYP for two consecutive years by empowering teachers and supporting administrators. As a Math Coach, she provided professional development to elementary school teachers and administrators on evidence-based teaching practices, re-wrote math curriculum to accommodate the upcoming new Common Core Standards for Mathematics, and offered math resources to supplement Math Trailblazers K-5 program. 

Nataly's most recent accomplishments include holding the record of the most eighth grade students meeting and exceeding expectations on the NJSLA-Geometry with 96.8% of students successfully passing the standardized test in 2024 and 87.5% of students successfully passing the standardized test in 2023. During her last two years of teaching, she piloted Desmos activities and graphing calculator, created activities in Desmos app, and incorporated exploration/hands-on activities in Geometry course.

Her education certifications include:

• Supervisor

• Teacher of Students with Disabilities (TOSD) Endorsement 

• Mathematics Teacher K-12

• Middle School with Subject Matter Specialization: Mathematics in Grades 5-8

• Elementary School Teacher

Nataly Riera is a member of professional associations and truely loves connecting, sharing ideas, and drawing inspiration from passionate educators globally via Twitter @NatalyRiera2 .