Alex Leon
BFA, BEd
Subject: Language Arts
What will my child walk away with? A more creative, expressive relationship with learning, developed through instruction that integrates visual arts, music, and literacy in ways that improve focus, commitment, and genuine engagement. My background as both a professional artist and a certified Ontario teacher gives me a distinctive ability to use creative practice as a lever for academic development.
What can families expect? A teacher with experience across Grades 1 through 5 in Mathematics, Literacy, Art, and Social Studies within the York Region District School Board, combined with extensive experience instructing children from ages five through thirteen in drawing and painting through various art programs in York Region. That combination of classroom teaching and arts instruction gives me an unusually integrated approach.
What does class actually feel like? Creative, engaging, and genuinely multidisciplinary. I believe that integrating drawing, painting, and music into academic instruction is not a distraction from rigorous learning — it is one of the most effective ways to deepen it. Students consistently show improved focus and perseverance when creative practice is woven into the work.
How do you challenge a curious mind? I give curious students creative challenges that require both technical precision and genuine imaginative investment. A student who is already academically capable benefits from learning that the same careful, disciplined thinking that produces good writing or good math also produces good art — and that connection opens new dimensions of intellectual engagement.
Credentials and Experience B.Ed., Tyndale University. B.F.A., OCAD University. Teaching experience in Grades 1 through 5 across Mathematics, Literacy, Art, and Social Studies within the York Region District School Board. Three years as a Grade 1 homeroom teacher. Professional artist and art instructor with specialization in painting across multiple styles and mediums. Art instruction experience with children ages five through thirteen and adults across multiple York Region programs.
Why Alex? Why Brain Power?
I became both an artist and a teacher because I believe creativity and rigor are not opposites — they are the same capacity expressed in different contexts. Brain Power’s students are exactly the ones who are ready to discover that connection for themselves.