Desiree Phillips

Desiree Phillips serves as a Lecturer in Education at Brandeis University's Interdepartmental Program in Education, teaching special education workshops and moderate disabilities courses since 2015. Concurrently, she holds a full-time administrative position as Coordinator for high school, upper school, and out-of-district special education programs at Cambridge Public Schools, where she has worked since 2006.

Her educational background includes:

• M.Ed. from Harvard University
• B.S. from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Phillips specializes in Special Education with deep expertise in supporting students with disabilities and learning differences across K-12 environments. Her work integrates urban and rural classroom experience with evidence-based differentiated instruction methodologies, demonstrated through National Science Teachers’ Association conference presentations and contributions to the Active Physics textbook series. This practical foundation informs her university teaching approach, emphasizing real-world application of special education frameworks.

At Cambridge Public Schools, her career progression from special educator (10 years across general and substantially separate classrooms) to lead teacher (2 years) and current coordinator role provides continuous professional development that directly enriches her academic instruction. Her focus remains on translating systemic special education coordination experience into effective pedagogical strategies for future educators.