Long before Fra Noi singled out Lisa Sasso as worthy of coverage for her efforts as an Italian teacher at South Middle School in Arlington Heights, Sasso say that Fra Noi played a role in helping her teaching dreams come true. “My father gave me an article he saw in Fra Noi about how the Italian government, along with a non-profit group called Italidea, was giving grants to American schools that started Italian programs,” Sasso recalls. ” I brought the information to my principal and she let me apply for the grant and the next school year, I started the …

In the world of Italian language education, it’s funny how the love of learning gets around. In a previous issue, we featured Noreen Moore, who started the Italian program at Fenwick High School in Oak Park. Prior to that, Moore taught Italian at Mother Guerin High School — where she inspired a student named Tonia Bernardi. Tonia went on to doctorate studies at the University of Wisconsin and then taught Italian at Dominican University — all while raising a family. Today she goes by Tonia Bernardi Triggiano and her adjunct gig, which began in 1995, turned into a full-time position …

If Prospect High School Italian teacher Lyn Scolaro captures any more awards in the next few months, she’s going to need a bigger wall in her office. Having just won the 2012 Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Teachers of Italian, she’s also been named an Arlington Heights Hearts of Gold Educator of the Year for 2013. Her parents, Mary and Attilio Scolaro, both have roots in the Veneto region. “My Italian teacher Ines Turus inspired me — and she was from the Veneto region, too,” Scolaro recalls. “She taught me things I never thought I’d learn, and …

Every time Marina Politzer steps into the classroom at St. Raymond School in Mt. Prospect, she can identify with the students who work hard to tackle Italian. That’s because as a native of Yugoslavia (with very interesting Italian roots), Politzer had to learn English as a second language. So she strives to give the 400 pupils in grades preK-5 her very best — and some melody to boot. “I’m always looking for ways to make it fun,” says Politzer, who started at St. Raymond in February 2009. “Kids have a short attention span and aren’t very motivated or focused, so …

Picture this: You grow up dreaming of becoming an opera singer, but your Italian parents have other ideas — drastic ones — that start with a one-way trip to a convent. “My father said, ‘No daughter of mine is going out and singing in a heavily male atmosphere,'” recalls M. Stella Weber. My parents were threatening to send me to Italy to become a nun. I was so scared since my mother had a cousin who was a nun. I thought my goose was cooked.” Instead, Weber took the music in her voice and channeled it into the Italian language, …

Many teachers will tell you that positive feedback is a waiting game: You may never know whether you’re having any impact until a student submits a major paper or delivers an important presentation. But for Laura Longano Cimmarrusti, each and every day provides her with inspiration. She loves how she gets to hear her students speak Italian in every class, and thus track their progress over the days and weeks. That, she adds, keeps her focused on doing her very best for the pupils of Notre Dame College Prep in north suburban Niles. “This is my second year at this …

Having just turned 50 in June, Phil Angotti’s at an age where most rockers call it a day. But look at Angotti’s calendar and you’ll see this Southeast Side native is busier than ever. He’s fronting the reunited pop band Material Issue (now dubbed “Material Reissue”), filling in for the late Jim Ellison. His new disc, “People and Places,” showcases his affection for the catchy, melodic rock he loves. And he still plays for enthusiastic audiences when he’s not working at his Wicker Park music store, Avenue N Guitars. “As you get older you get more sentimental, and you’re happy …

Native Italian Chiara Mangiameli has established herself a leader in Chicago’s dance scene, which might not seem surprising given how Italians throw themselves wholeheartedly at anything artistic. But her choice of genre is anything but typical, at least for someone born and raised in Milan: She’s dedicating her life and career to mastering flamenco dance. “Every time I’ve visited Seville, Spain to study, I’ve felt very comfortable and at home,” says Mangiameli, who today runs her own dance studio in the Logan Square neighborhood. “Italians and Spaniards seem to share cultural similarities that make them compatible. I felt an affinity …

While many parents chalk up an afternoon in front of the television as adequate entertainment for their kids, Kenny Haas is a throwback to the days of 1960s variety shows. And when he calls himself “a one- man Ed Sullivan Show,” take heed. Known to his legions of young fans as the Mayor of Storyville, he sings, writes songs and stories, draws, and does voice impersonations and ventriloquism. That might make him the most multi-faceted children’s performer in the Chicago area. Not bad for a guy who, in his day job as an advertising copywriter, won 80 awards in the …

As a Chicago native with a lifelong interest in the arts, Elysabeth Alfano has seemingly done it all: She’s run a glass art gallery and an accessories design company; she’s taught “Marketing on a Shoestring” at Columbia College; and she turned her TV show idea into the reality that is “Fear No ART Chicago,” which airs on WTTW Ch. 11. To say Alfano conjured the show from the ether wouldn’t be an exaggeration. The journey involved lots of cold calling to television networks; even when WTTW gave a green light, they couldn’t offer any funding. So Alfano aggressively courted her …