Helenann Civian, Expanded Learning Time Program Director

Helenann Civian has spent her career in education, leading classrooms, schools and education reform to ensure that students and teachers have the tools they need to succeed.

Helenann is a nationally board certified teacher with experience as a teacher and as an administrator. She began her career as a special education and elementary school teacher. She next served as the district mathematics curriculum coordinator as well as a mathematics teacher at the high school. Helenann then moved to be an administrator at urban and suburban middle and high schools for over six years.

The next phase of Helenann’s career has been focused on education reform and helping schools and teachers to change to get better results for their students. She currently leads the technical assistance program in Massachusetts for schools that are considering redesigning their school day to add time to their day through the Expanded Learning Time Initiative. She guides them through the redesign process and continues that specialized assistance as they implement the additional time.

Helenann is a leader in education reform in Massachusetts. She served as an MCAS advisor and worked with the state to rewrite the alternate mathematics curriculum frameworks. In addition, she helped to write the initial math assessment for the Boston middle schools as they adopted a new mathematics curriculum.
Previously, Helenann worked at the Center for Collaborative Education in Boston where she was the Director of the Mathematics and Science Initiative (SIMSE) funded by the Noyce Foundation. She later became the Director of the Small Schools Network at the Center for Collaborative Education which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This work involved redesigning large comprehensive high schools to small equitable autonomous schools. Helenann also led a program that supported schools that received small learning community grants that were funded by the federal government. She also directed the Coalition of Essential Schools.

In addition, Helenann worked for DisneyHand Honoree Teacher and School Administrator Program where she led all professional development for urban schools.

Helenann also spent time as an adjunct professor at the School of Education at Northeastern University, teaching and mentoring teachers and school leaders.

Helenann has her Masters Degree in Education and Public Policy from Bridgewater State College and a concentration in Social Service. She received her math certification through a fellowship at Rutgers University, writing her thesis on “Algebraic Thinking, Patterns & Functions”. She currently lives in Canton, MA with her husband Jamey and her three children, Vincent, William and Sara.