VT teacher of the Year - CHS

Susan Rosato has been an English language learner teacher for 20 years. She teaches at Colchester High School in Colchester, Vermont. Rosato began her career in Holyoke, Massachusetts in a bilingual classroom. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education from the State University of New York at Cortland and her Masters of Science in Teaching English as a second language from the State University of New York at Albany. Rosato is a fierce advocate for refugee and immigrant families and serves as a stepping stone between coming to a new community and actually being a part of it. She is responsible for creating and implementing Colchester High School’s newcomer class and EL course and the district’s EL professional development course for educators. She also instituted Colchester’s EL summer program. With the help of her students sharing their stories that equity in education is making sure all students are welcome and receive a bias free curriculum, Rosato has successfully petitioned her school board to increase EL faculty from its initial .4 position to 3.5 positions. During the move to remote learning, Rosato stayed connected with families to support them so they could access their children’s education, figure out unemployment benefits and update health information. She also created instructional and multilingual videos about the reopening of schools. Rosato is a leader who rolls up her sleeves to break down barriers and improve equity in education, remaining a fierce and vocal advocate for the most marginalized students.