Local mother and daughter are math teachers
Aug. 10—Family ties include work for an Oneonta mother and daughter.
Anna and Michelle Rossi always knew they wanted to be math teachers. Both of them graduated from SUNY Oneonta, Anna in 1986 and Michelle in 2021. With the generation gap, both women are able to learn from each other based on their experiences, they said.
After graduating from SUNY Oneonta, Anna Rossi pursued her masters degree in secondary mathematics, graduating in 1991.
"I spent one year in Masonville teaching, then I went to Davenport for another year and then spent 17 years in Sidney," she said.
Despite teaching for 19 years, Anna always knew she wanted to teach in the Oneonta school district.
"They say third times the charm, on my last interview I finally made the connection and got the job to teach in Oneonta. It took a while for me to find an opportunity like this, since salary was also a big factor for teaching jobs for me," Anna said.
Anna became more involved in the Oneonta school district as time went on. She coached softball during her time at Sidney, but stopped because of her kids.
In Oneonta, she began to coach modified volleyball and softball. She was also involved in the ski club and the student council.
"The longer I stayed in Oneonta, the more involved I became. Oneonta was close to home for me and I loved getting involved with the district," she said.
With the transition in the mathematics curriculum to Common Core, Anna found herself enjoying the change. "Teaching math in a different way is important. I already revamped my own math program a little and thinking different is always nice for teaching," she said.
The changes in technology for the school districts was another aspect of teaching that Anna embraced.
"Sidney had more technology available as a lower income district. Teaching at Oneonta was like going back to traditional methods, with overhead projectors and chalk board," she said.
COVID-19 also made Anna more involved with technological changes. "Programs like Schoology were a lot easier for me to use because I had the time to learn about them throughout COVID," she said.
Michelle Rossi said her mother was one of her biggest influences when deciding to pursue teaching as a career.
"At first I went to school for chemical engineering, then I originally wanted to be a math teacher. I took some classes and decided that becoming a math teacher was what I really wanted to do," Michelle said.
Michelle started working on her masters degree after she graduated in May.
"After I was enrolled, I got the offer for a teaching position in Oneonta. I've always been super involved with the district and the teaching position also allowed me to coach junior varsity volleyball," she said.
Michelle has been involved with the volleyball team ever since she graduated high school and she has also subbed in Oneonta.
"It's really interesting working with my old teachers and remembering to call them by their first name. It's really nice helping a bunch of my students, ones that need advice or just need to talk. Being so close in age and younger really helps with connecting with them," Michelle said.
Oneonta high school also utilizes a "talk dot" system where teachers who have a dot on their doors are allowing their classroom to be a "safe space for students to talk," Michelle said.
"Experiences are relatable for younger teachers for the kids. Some of the older teachers still bring on older school traditions, bringing education up to the times is important," Anna said.
Alexis Ochi, staff writer, can be reached at aochi@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7213.
