About Us

After twenty-five years in institutional finance David decided to focus on ways to make a difference in the academic lives of underserved and economically disadvantaged students. He created educational companies that have provided parents with instructional guidance and parental involvement workshops, students with tutoring and instruction in literacy and mathematics, and teachers and principals with coaching and professional development training.

He founded HigherSchool Publishing Company in 2002 and later published The Parent’s Guide to Better Grades, 7 Steps to Improve Your Child’s Academic Performance. Developed as a resource for Title I parents who attended his parent involvement workshops, this instructional guide has successfully helped thousands of parents in Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit and Los Angeles by providing guidance on how to help their children improve their study habits, organizational skills, and overall academic performance.

He next created HigherSchool Tutoring in 2004 to provide supplemental educational services to students in the Detroit Public Schools; the Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Prince George’s County Public Schools; and the DC Public Schools. His tutors helped students establish a firm foundation in core subjects, score higher on state and national assessments and develop the skills needed to perform on grade level. HigherSchool Tutoring was one of the first companies in the mid-Atlantic region to implement differentiated instruction in mixed ability classrooms as well as blended instruction, which combined asynchronous online learning with live instruction.

These companies were followed in 2009 by HigherSchool Instructional Services, which provided supplemental instruction, professional development, counseling and parent involvement services to Title I schools in the New York City Department of Education. With an annual enrollment exceeding 8,000 students in three boroughs, HigherSchool became one of the largest supplemental instructional services programs for Title I students in New York. It was later expanded to the School District of Philadelphia in 2017. HigherSchool was purchased in 2020 by Nelnet, a national educational services provider and servicer of student loans for the U.S. Department of Education.

In 2018, he started CollegeReadyMath, which offers a complete series of supplemental, online algebra video lessons for secondary and post-secondary students and, in 2023, he created proficientED, a professional learning program designed to help math teachers improve the quality of their instructional practice and implement more effective teaching strategies.

Prior to forming HigherSchool, David was the Regional Vice President for Delta Education, the K-12 Science Division of School Specialty, the developer of the Full Option Science System (FOSS) hands-on science kits. He managed a sales force throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions.

Prior to Delta Education, David was the Regional Sales Manager for ASCD: The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development where he marketed professional development programs, books and workshops to major school districts and universities throughout the Midwest.

David attended Howard University and Harvard Business School Executive Education. He currently resides in Washington, DC. He has three adult children and two grandchildren.

He is a retired member of the Board of Trustees of the Key School in Annapolis, a former Board Member of the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County and a current member of the National Advisory Board of Foundations Inc.

Miguel Cordero leads the Professional Learning Programs for proficientED. Prior to joining proficientED, Miguel spent the last thirty years with the New York City Department of Education, most recently as Executive Director of STEM Programs for the Division of Teaching & Learning. There he oversaw the development and implementation of key policy, partnerships, professional learning and resources within the Divisions of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Prior to serving as the Executive Director of STEM, Miguel was an advisor to the Chancellor’s Chief Academic Officer. He also held other positions within the Department including Senior Director of STEM for the Division of Multilingual Learners, Director of Secondary Mathematics for the Division of English Language Learners, Senior Math Instructional Specialist for Mathematics and Science, Assistant Principal of Mathematics for the High School for Media and Communications and Math Teacher at Washington Irving High School. Before coming to New York City, Miguel taught all high school math courses and developed curricula materials in Puerto Rico.

Miguel has a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics as well as a Master’s in Educational Administration.

Ronald spent most of his career teaching high school and middle school math. For over two decades he provided coaching and team teaching to classroom teachers and then designed and implemented school-based professional development for math teachers. Ronald then moved into a new position as Math Staff Developer / Instructional Specialist for the Office of the Superintendent at Manhattan High Schools where he designed, organized and conducted regular borough-wide professional development for hundreds of math educators. 

Ronald then held the position as a Mathematics Instructional Specialist for the Department of Science and Mathematics under the Division of Teaching and Learning for New York City Department of Education. It was in this role that Ronald designed, organized and oversaw citywide professional development for hundreds of math coaches and assistant principals, and thousands of math teachers. He supervised the implementation of Core Curriculum for NYC high school mathematics, as well as the rollout of three new high school math courses. He also analyzed questions for the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) 2011 national exam. Ronald also represented the Department of Education at national meetings on math education issues as a member of the Urban Math Leadership Network (UMLN).

Prior to that he was a consultant for Pearson Learning Services where he provided coaching and team teaching to classroom teachers and school-based professional development for math teachers.                 

Ronald earned his Master’s Degree from New York University, and his B.A. from Queens College (CUNY),