By Carol P. Bartold     

Sep. 9, 2015:  The Bronxville School opened the 2015-2016 academic year with a crop of new teachers who arrived not only with years of solid educational experience, but also with experience in business, government, and the arts.                               

New grade 5 teacher Rosana Colliniates graduated from Villanova University with a business degree and worked as a buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue before she became an educator. She began her teaching career at P.S. 6 in Manhattan five years ago. An expanding family brought Colliniates to Westchester County. "I had always heard such wonderful things about Bronxville," she said, "and I'm fortunate to be here now." Colliniates holds a graduate degree from Fordham University.

Laura Laffer, new to the kindergarten this year, taught in Connecticut before moving to New York to be closer to her family. "My uncle is a child psychologist in Westchester," she said, "and he was guiding me. Bronxville came very highly recommended." Laffer earned her bachelor's degree from Keene State College in New Hampshire and her master's degree from Salem State University in Massachusetts. Other than teaching grade 3 for one year, she has always taught kindergarten.

Jenna Williams brings five years of experience as an environmental engineer at the US Environmental Protection Agency to 7th grade science students. Williams earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engineering from Manhattan College. She received a master's degree for teaching chemistry from Pace University.

New elementary library media specialist Izzy Fattore describes his Bronxville School job as the best of both the literature and technology worlds. "I get to be around books and students and manage the technology aspect." A graduate of the University of Scranton with a bachelor's degree in English, Fattore taught English for ten years in Highland, New York.

Maria Trigosso, new middle school French teacher, brings 14 years of experience in education to Bronxville. She has taught French for most of her career and worked as an administrator for the past two years. The St. John's University graduate earned her master's degree at C.W. Post-Long Island University.

"I've known Bronxville my whole life," said new high school English teacher Franco D'Alessandro. "I grew up in the western part of Yonkers." A published author who specializes in drama and playwriting, he looks forward to guiding students in writing their own essays and analyzing literature and drama. D'Alessandro taught for 13 years in the New York City Department of Education and earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Fordham University.

Brad Ashley, new K-12 technology specialist, also comes to Bronxville from the New York City Department of Education. He taught technology for eight years, three at the elementary level and the last five years at the high school level. The University of Northern Colorado graduate holds a master's degree from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and is pursuing another master's degree at Teachers College Columbia University. "Computer science is a big passion of mine," Ashley said. "I hope to work with all grades to help develop a K-12 computer science curriculum."

Michael Barr, teacher of physics, core biology, and core chemistry, comes to Bronxville High School after teaching for ten years in the Bronx. It's a return to Westchester for the University at Albany-SUNY graduate. After beginning his career in Queens, Barr taught for several years in the county. He wants to have his students engage in problem solving and problem-based learning. He also hopes to help students establish a vegetable garden where they can experience the farm-to-table movement. Barr holds master's degrees in biology from Queens College, City University of New York, and has studied at Teachers College Columbia University.

"My parents are Chinese but I grew up in the Dominican Republic," said Linita Shih, who joins the middle school faculty to teach French and Spanish. "I'm excited to teach Spanish because it's my native language." Shih earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Ohio State University. She studied French literature in graduate school. Shih said she hopes to help students realize that we are living in a world community and to encourage them to take risks in communicating with people from other cultures.

Art teacher Nicole Schorr comes to Bronxville High School from the Manhattan Academy of Technology. At that middle school, she and fellow faculty members developed an arts program that resulted in almost 30 percent of the student body's applying for placement in specialized arts high schools. Schorr noted that approximately 95 percent of those students received placement in arts high schools. "I'm excited to have a conversation with high school students about portfolio and portfolio development," Schorr said. "I want to help them find their own artistic voices." Schorr holds a degree in apparel design from Rhode Island School of Design and a master's degree in arts education from Queens College, City University of New York.

Pictured here:  New teachers at The Bronxville School for the 2015-16 school year.

Photo by Dr. David Quattrone, superintendent of the Bronxville schools