Maria Marini DeStefanis
Maria Louisa Rossana Marini was born on August 24, 1954, in Bridgeport, CT, the first child to Italian born Sebastian and Pasqualina Marini, soon to be joined by her younger sister, Francesca.
From the names above you might have some insight into why Maria DeStefanis evolved into the passionate purveyor of Italian languages and culture and then other languages and their culture to thousands of students in her thirty-seven-year teaching career in Branford.
Having grown up bilingual after speaking mostly Italian as a preschooler, Maria literally became the translator for family and friends, both inside and outside the home. Probably unwittingly, this must have given this young child of immigrants a self-confidence and level of maturity and responsibility that paved the way for a remarkable life and love of teaching languages and culture.
As a student in the World Languages program at Southern Connecticut State College, Maria, while majoring in Italian and Spanish, also studied French. At Southern she met her future husband, Giancarlo DeStefanis, married in 1977 and have three daughters, Alessandra, Laura and Carla.
Both Maria and Giancarlo became World Language teachers. Giancarlo taught at East Haven High School and was an adjunct at three local universities. After substituting elsewhere, Maria began teaching at the Branford Intermediate School in 1977 and totally involved and devoted herself to the love and dissemination of languages and cultures.
Maria’s involvement took many forms. At one point the French program was to be dropped for lack of a qualified teacher. Naturally, Maria returned to college so the program would continue. She ran an after school Italian club for interested students from all grades, teaching language and culture. She enjoyed working on interdisciplinary projects with teachers, both on her team and in other departments. She worked with the music department to bring students to sing Christmas carols in various languages to the elementary schools. For years she worked on Ginny Baltay’s unique “Brain Blast” with each teacher on her team to develop the questions and challenges for the students. Besides working with media and library teachers to complete many projects, she chaperoned many field trips with her students.
Maria was and still is heavily involved in the CT Council of Language Teachers (CT COLT) and has served on their board and in many other capacities. She has chaired the student excellence award, co-chaired and judged the poetry contest and still serves on the Fall Conference Committee. With her encouragement, for years, students from Walsh participated in statewide CT COLT poster contests and poetry recitation contests, always in a foreign language. At one point, Branford students won the most medals in the middle school category for four consecutive years.
Maria’s third professional degree, which was in Administration and Educational Leadership, led to her becoming the World Language Department chair from 1999 to 2014, the year she retired.
Maria, Giancarlo and their daughter Carla, a language teacher in North Haven, are still very involved in CT COLT activities. Besides her many other hobbies and interests, Maria and Giancarlo travel to Italy each year to see family and friends. From the early years in Bridgeport through today, the once little translator has truly had a very big influence on so many.
From the names above you might have some insight into why Maria DeStefanis evolved into the passionate purveyor of Italian languages and culture and then other languages and their culture to thousands of students in her thirty-seven-year teaching career in Branford.
Having grown up bilingual after speaking mostly Italian as a preschooler, Maria literally became the translator for family and friends, both inside and outside the home. Probably unwittingly, this must have given this young child of immigrants a self-confidence and level of maturity and responsibility that paved the way for a remarkable life and love of teaching languages and culture.
As a student in the World Languages program at Southern Connecticut State College, Maria, while majoring in Italian and Spanish, also studied French. At Southern she met her future husband, Giancarlo DeStefanis, married in 1977 and have three daughters, Alessandra, Laura and Carla.
Both Maria and Giancarlo became World Language teachers. Giancarlo taught at East Haven High School and was an adjunct at three local universities. After substituting elsewhere, Maria began teaching at the Branford Intermediate School in 1977 and totally involved and devoted herself to the love and dissemination of languages and cultures.
Maria’s involvement took many forms. At one point the French program was to be dropped for lack of a qualified teacher. Naturally, Maria returned to college so the program would continue. She ran an after school Italian club for interested students from all grades, teaching language and culture. She enjoyed working on interdisciplinary projects with teachers, both on her team and in other departments. She worked with the music department to bring students to sing Christmas carols in various languages to the elementary schools. For years she worked on Ginny Baltay’s unique “Brain Blast” with each teacher on her team to develop the questions and challenges for the students. Besides working with media and library teachers to complete many projects, she chaperoned many field trips with her students.
Maria was and still is heavily involved in the CT Council of Language Teachers (CT COLT) and has served on their board and in many other capacities. She has chaired the student excellence award, co-chaired and judged the poetry contest and still serves on the Fall Conference Committee. With her encouragement, for years, students from Walsh participated in statewide CT COLT poster contests and poetry recitation contests, always in a foreign language. At one point, Branford students won the most medals in the middle school category for four consecutive years.
Maria’s third professional degree, which was in Administration and Educational Leadership, led to her becoming the World Language Department chair from 1999 to 2014, the year she retired.
Maria, Giancarlo and their daughter Carla, a language teacher in North Haven, are still very involved in CT COLT activities. Besides her many other hobbies and interests, Maria and Giancarlo travel to Italy each year to see family and friends. From the early years in Bridgeport through today, the once little translator has truly had a very big influence on so many.
Letters of Nomination
This is a letter of nomination for Maria DeStefanis as a very worthy candidate for the Branford Education Hall of Fame. I was a long time teacher at BIS/WIS and during that time got to know Maria. I knew her as a friend, dedicated, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable teacher of foreign language. Maria was very active and respected in the Connecticut State Language Association, known as COLT. She brought many of these progressive ideas back to Branford. For instance, she ran the foreign language poetry contest where students recited a poem in another language. Prizes were awarded and the best students moved on to the state competition. Many of the Walsh students took part in the poetry event. I well remember Maria telling me about how well our students did at the state level. (although I was not a team member Maria and I spoke often about what her students were doing). One student signed her poem, which made the team aware that sign language is a real language. She also had Walsh students participate in the COLT State Foreign Language poster contest. I also remember Maria telling me how well our students did in that contest. She was always advocating for her students to be involved and broaden their horizons by using their talents. She advocated for the value of (our students) to learn a foreign language so as to better understand the world. Maria ran a casual after school French club so that students could enjoy the fun of learning more about the language and customs. She organized foreign food fests for the team at lunch. Students brought in dishes from around the world to share. Maria often brought some of the left overs up to our lunch so we also got to taste some of their "creations". Her fluency in three languages was a big plus for Walsh. I was told she would welcome all the parents on Open House night in three languages: French, Spanish, and Italian. She was innovative in bringing digital learning of foreign language to Walsh. She was for a long time the Department Chair. and always a level headed, fair member of the Principals advisory team (a group composed of all department chairs). Maria was successful in teaching and reaching ALL students. She had a way with students that made them comfortable and ready to participate in her classes.
When I first started at WIS Maria Destefanis welcomed me into the WIS community. I soon learned that she taught both French and Spanish. As a counselor, I saw many students struggle during academics. Maria made her classroom a place for all students to learn. She used multiple ways to make sure her students were understanding what they were taught. She created with her classes a multicultural event where students celebrated their own cultures with bringing in food from home. It was shared among students. Together with her teammates, the students would then create a cookbook. She was always willing to collaborate with teachers and work with kids. She understood that when a student was struggling with home life and issues that her class was not the most important thing in their day. She also started the Italian Club at WIS which still goes on today. She was dedicated to the children of Branford and that's why I think she should be in the hall of fame.