Mr. Bernor
John Bernor grew up on the south shore of Long Island attending the local public school, as well as the area malls and beaches. He was constantly reading, whether it was a Sports Illustrated, a Choose Your Own Adventure novel, or the back of a cereal box. His love of literature flourished at Binghamton University where he earned a B.A. in English with a minor in history. After working various jobs in Dublin, Ireland, and Long Island, he moved to New York City sixteen years ago. His first job in the city was at The Strand bookstore, just a short walk from AFSE, where he returned a fair amount of his salary by buying books. John knew he wanted to work towards a meaningful and creative career. He returned to school for his Masters in Arts in Secondary Education in English at Hunter College and began teaching full-time at Belmont Preparatory in the Bronx while still pursuing his degree. He taught freshman and sophomore English for five years at Belmont Prep and taught sophomore English and journalism for a year at Civic Leadership Academy in Elmhurst, Queens. For the next six years, John taught at a diverse arts magnet school, Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School, in downtown New Haven, Connecticut, where he added AP Language and Composition into his teaching repertoire and infused the arts into his classroom. He has served a variety of teaching and leadership roles including as a Lead English Teacher and as a Curriculum Facilitator for New Haven Public Schools. He had a triumphant return to New York in 2016 as he joined AFSE.
