Instructor Spotlight: Denise Pucciarelli
Denise is a Reading Rescue instructor at P.S. 56 in Staten Island, where she has worked as a paraprofessional for 13 years. Prior to her work in a first grade classroom for the past two years, Denise has spent time in a variety of K-5 classrooms.
Denise is originally from Brooklyn, but has lived in Staten Island for her adult life. The mother of three kids - all adults - she knows firsthand what it’s like to watch your child struggle to learn to read. Her daughter was in 4th grade at a Catholic school when Denise was alerted that she couldn’t sound out words. The school didn’t recognize this issue in time for an early intervention like Reading Rescue, so Denise sought out private tutoring for her daughter. Now, with two years experience in teaching other people’s children to learn to read, Denise wishes she’d known to get help for her own daughter earlier. She does help her niece and nephew with their reading when she can, and is dedicated using this training to increase her impact.
Denise Pucciarelli in P.S. 56 R's Reading Rescue space.
““My favorite part of the Reading Rescue lesson is phonics. The students I have worked with struggled most in this area and they really seem to enjoy the multi-sensory approach.”
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Denise uses her Reading Rescue training elsewhere in the school, and is always looking for ways to help out. This year she is the one-to-one paraprofessional for a first grade student on the autism spectrum. Reading Rescue would not be appropriate for this student because his behavioral needs prevent him from the possibility of attending a 30 minute lesson. Additionally, his current reading needs are outside the scope of Reading Rescue intervention. However, Denise uses her Reading Rescue training to support him with his own literacy journey as much as she can. He looks forward to indoor lunch days when they can do phonics practice together. Whenever she’s supporting his reading throughout the school day, she’s thinking of the skills and tools she knows from being a Reading Rescue instructor. Denise is an excellent example of how training an adult in a school doesn’t just help their Reading Rescue student, but any student they work with throughout their day. With the program, she’s worked directly with four students.
Denise working with her current Reading Rescue student.
Denise says that one of the keys to her success is having a supportive, attentive program coordinator in Nicole Netzel. Prior to this training, Denise felt more confident with math tutoring, probably due to background and B.S. in Finance.
As a self-described huge planner, Denise credits her Monday afternoon organization time with her instructional successes. She plans in advance for each session, so that when she’s with her student she can really respond to her immediate instructional needs. When she uses one of her strategies effectively and notices, she gets a huge smile on her face. This is one of Denise’s favorite parts of this work.
“I love to see how their confidence builds as they learn to read.”
Thank you Denise for your dedication to this intervention, and to all students in your school!