Literacy Coach Builds Upon Strengths of Teachers, Students

As the district’s new K-8 literacy coach, Rosana Colliniates has dedicated her time to support and guide her fellow educators in achieving their goals as reading and writing teachers. Whether fostering greater independence among students or strengthening their writing skills, Colliniates has fully embraced her role.

“I feel fortunate to be in this position and work with students across nine grade levels, as well as the fantastic teachers,” Colliniates said. “We have such a dedicated, talented and inspiring staff here at Bronxville. I’m appreciative that the teachers have welcomed me into their rooms and allowed me to share my experience and knowledge with them.

Since the beginning of the school year, Colliniates, who previously taught fifth grade, has collaborated with teachers to develop strategies for engaging their students in small-group writing activities. She has also assisted teachers in strengthening their students’ writing skills by encouraging them to try out different writing techniques and to celebrate their accomplishments. At the middle school level, Colliniates has guided teachers in designing lesson plans around the power of using vivid descriptions in narrative writing.

“It has been fantastic visiting middle school classrooms and seeing many of my former students,” Colliniates said. “Each time I visit a sixth-, seventh- or eighth-grade classroom, I see familiar faces and get the opportunity to work with those same students again.”

Colliniates said her new role and access to every K-8 classroom has provided her with a greater understanding of how the reading and writing work at each grade level builds upon the previous year.

“Implementing the Teachers College Reading and Writing Units of Study was an important initiative, and I’m grateful to be supporting teachers in this work, as well as supporting them in reaching their goals as educators,” she said. “It’s essential to model for our students that we are lifelong learners, and just like them, we have our own goals that we are working on professionally.” 

As far as her goals for the rest of the year, Colliniates hopes to inspire students to continue to grow as readers and writers and to support teachers in reaching their goals as educators.