Donna Gagliardi
Donna Gagliardi was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her family moved to Arlington, MA, where Donna attended Arlington Catholic High School and played on the basketball team and sang in the choir. One of her math teachers encouraged her to research and study a theorem about skew pentagons that had just been written up in a journal and enter it in their school science fair. As there were no computers, she went to the Boston Public Library to find the journal. She illustrated the theorem by building models with dowel sticks and presented it not only at her school fair, but the regional fair and finally the state fair at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was a great experience and this was how she became interested in teaching math.
Donna majored in math with a minor in physics and secondary education at Emanuel College in Boston and graduated in 1968. While a sophomore, she met her future husband Carl, who was attaining his MS degree in Economics at Northeastern. When Carl finished a two year commitment to the Army, they married and moved to the New Haven area where Carl had grown up.
Donna and Carl have two sons, Michael and Paul. While home raising them, Donna finished her MS degree at Southern Connecticut State College. They bought a house in Branford in 1973 and she returned to teaching in 1977. Over the years, she taught almost every math course offered. Because technology use in math was growing at a rapid rate in those years, Donna took more classes and attended many workshops on computer programming, using the graphing calculator, advanced placement calculus and statistics. Donna always used real life problems to bring math alive for her students. When the high school was being renovated, she had the students estimate the volume and weight of cement used. Lastly, with the help of her husband Carl, Donna built a scale model of a crane with an erector set to teach students how it works with regard to lifting and moving the pipes.
She also became involved outside the classroom as the coach of the math team, preparing the Quiz Bowl team in math, serving as a class advisor and on the BHS Advisory Committee. She also enjoyed attending the school concerts, plays, sporting events and the great lunches at Betsey McGuigan's student restaurant.
Donna, her husband and her two sons always loved tennis and all became serious players. Carl, Michael and Paul competed and were ranked in their divisions. They traveled together to matches and only slowed a little when their four grandchildren, Charlotte, Christopher, Lily and Luke were born.
Donna's reputation as an outstanding educator was well known to students. They knew she was in school early and stayed well after the last bell to give extra time to any student who needed it. She made math fun and took the mystery out of even the most difficult subjects. She earned the respect of not only her students, but her colleagues as well.
In retirement, Donna still works tutoring some students in math and still attends concerts and plays. Now she can also spend more time on her hobbies, including sewing, singing, playing bridge, and most of all, she can spend more time with her grandchildren.
Donna majored in math with a minor in physics and secondary education at Emanuel College in Boston and graduated in 1968. While a sophomore, she met her future husband Carl, who was attaining his MS degree in Economics at Northeastern. When Carl finished a two year commitment to the Army, they married and moved to the New Haven area where Carl had grown up.
Donna and Carl have two sons, Michael and Paul. While home raising them, Donna finished her MS degree at Southern Connecticut State College. They bought a house in Branford in 1973 and she returned to teaching in 1977. Over the years, she taught almost every math course offered. Because technology use in math was growing at a rapid rate in those years, Donna took more classes and attended many workshops on computer programming, using the graphing calculator, advanced placement calculus and statistics. Donna always used real life problems to bring math alive for her students. When the high school was being renovated, she had the students estimate the volume and weight of cement used. Lastly, with the help of her husband Carl, Donna built a scale model of a crane with an erector set to teach students how it works with regard to lifting and moving the pipes.
She also became involved outside the classroom as the coach of the math team, preparing the Quiz Bowl team in math, serving as a class advisor and on the BHS Advisory Committee. She also enjoyed attending the school concerts, plays, sporting events and the great lunches at Betsey McGuigan's student restaurant.
Donna, her husband and her two sons always loved tennis and all became serious players. Carl, Michael and Paul competed and were ranked in their divisions. They traveled together to matches and only slowed a little when their four grandchildren, Charlotte, Christopher, Lily and Luke were born.
Donna's reputation as an outstanding educator was well known to students. They knew she was in school early and stayed well after the last bell to give extra time to any student who needed it. She made math fun and took the mystery out of even the most difficult subjects. She earned the respect of not only her students, but her colleagues as well.
In retirement, Donna still works tutoring some students in math and still attends concerts and plays. Now she can also spend more time on her hobbies, including sewing, singing, playing bridge, and most of all, she can spend more time with her grandchildren.