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ALUMNI IN ACADEMICS
A look at four alumni who are using their Cheshire Academy experiences to support the education world.
From Supported to Supporter
EMILY BROCK BARCEL ’05 AND MANDY GRASS ’04
From Instagram posts to ScratchUp blogs, Cheshire Academy students share their thoughts and experiences in myriad ways. For alumni, social media also provides an outlet to tout the benefits of attending the Academy.
- Emily Brock Barcel ’05 – LinkedIn
Emily Barcel ’05
Barcel is unabashedly earnest in her goals as a teacher and how her education at the Academy directed her to choose special education as her career. She was enrolled in the Roxbury Academic Support Program and points to the skills she learned there as her foundation for success in college; “The Academy added a supportive environment. I felt confident, and my outlook totally changed,” Barcel said.
A similar success story is told by Mandy Grass ’04, who teaches special education math classes at Old Saybrook Middle School in Connecticut. “As a senior, I was ready for college, but without Roxbury, I would not have been. I can’t stress enough the support I received,” she said.
Mandy Grass ’04
“My whole family was worried that I would never make it through college,” Grass said. However, after learning organizational skills and executive function applications, she said the educational support she was given through Roxbury allowed her to not only receive a bachelor’s degree, but to earn a master’s degree in special education, and a sixth year certificate in mathematics education leadership.
Both alumnae list Leah Stancil and Leslie Barry, the former and current directors of Roxbury, respectively, as providing encouragement, insight, and even strictness, as the foundation for their success. “Mrs. Stancil told me ‘you’re on an elevator and you can only go up,’” said Barcel.
Grass met with Stancil once a day, each week, for two years. “Everything was in a three-ring binder. That was a big help to me. I still use them,” she said. Barry helped Barcel with the task of reading, “Beowulf”. “She took no prisoners. It was the first time I had been called out and recognized for not working to my ability,” she added.
Barcel is the second generation from her family to attend Cheshire Academy, following her father, Raymond Blakeslee Brock ’74 P’05; her uncle, Peter Brock ’71; and her aunt, Sharon Brock ’71. Barcel chose to attend the Academy after she took a campus tour. “The student who gave us the tour knew every single person we passed. It was so different than public school,” she said.
The success Grass realized at the Academy gave her a life-long goal to provide the same support for others. “My intention is to help the students learn skills to be independent and to lead self-determined lives.”
STUDENT-ATHLETE BECOMES COACH
TORY VERDI ’92
The postgraduate (PG) program at Cheshire Academy has produced a number of successful student-athletes. Salvatore “Tory” Verdi Jr. ’92 is a strong example of a PG who took full advantage of the student-centered education at Cheshire Academy to achieve success as a teacher and then a collegiate coach.
“I grew up that year, it allowed me to mature,” Verdi said of his time at the Academy. “I will be forever thankful for the life lessons it taught me.” Now the head women’s basketball coach at Eastern Michigan University, Verdi said he wasn’t ready for college after graduating from high school. “I couldn’t write essays or papers. At the Academy I received positive reinforcement and started growing.”
TORY VERDI ’92
After attending Keene State College where he received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, Verdi went on to get a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Hartford. He became an elementary school teacher in his hometown of New Britain, Conn., and in Hartford.
Verdi then moved into a collegiate coaching career when he returned to Keene as an assistant coach. He has since coached 12 teams, ranging from the University of Nebraska and Kansas University, to the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun which won the Eastern Conference when Verdi was an assistant coach. He sees the basketball court as an extension of a classroom. “I prepare the team members for life after basketball. I work to instill values and help players make an impact in society. I try to help them grow and develop,” Verdi said.
A tried and true method of student guidance has worked for Verdi: he leads by example. “I put myself out there to be the hardest working person,” he said. “As a classroom teacher, I created a structured environment. I now bring energy, excitement, and elements of fun to the team as well,” Verdi added.
Coaching collegiate basketball can mean long days, lots of travel, and little down time. Verdi said he stays balanced through the support of his wife, family, and staff, who are his sounding boards.
The Verdi name is still familiar at the Academy as the next generation of student-athlete is enrolled. Hunter Verdi ’17 has been a starter on the varsity football team since his freshman year. He is Tory Verdi’s nephew and the son and grandson of educators.
“My uncle is a likable person. He relates to students,” said Hunter Verdi. “He’s energetic and he does things that help students feel comfortable so they like him.” The junior said his uncle, “takes charge but in a manner in which the team wants to follow him. He is a great leader who guides them and has a lasting effect on their futures.”
Teaching could be considered the Verdi family career. Tory Verdi’s parents were both teachers in New Britain and Todd Verdi, Hunter Verdi’s father, is the principal of Slade Middle School, also in New Britain. His mother, Heather, is an assistant principal at Platt High School in nearby Meriden. ”I understand how important it is to have the ability to shape the future of children,” Tory Verdi said. That knowledge was formed at the Academy. “With the combination of the Roxbury Academic Support program and extra help periods, students achieve tremendous results. Some excel at an unbelievable level as individuals,” Tory Verdi said. “It makes the Academy attractive. It’s a special place and always will be.”
38-YEAR TEACHING CAREER
JOSEPH CALABRO ’71
Success as a teacher begins not only with a strong education, but also with strong examples of the best-in-classroom instruction. Recently retired teacher Joseph Calabro ’71 soaked up the expertise of Academy faculty and is able to recall the names of his favorite instructors as if he had just left their classrooms last week.
“Bob Gardiner taught me a love for English; Doug Rehor got me through math,” Calabro said. “Carl Weber taught me Latin for three years, and John Corpaci was our yearbook advisor. What a mind that man had,” he added.
JOSEPH CALABRO ’71
Calabro integrated what he learned at the Academy into his 38-year career as an English teacher at Pomperaug High School in Southbury, Conn. What many may not know is he began his teaching career at Cheshire Academy where he taught English in the 19761977 school year.
“I’m delighted he became a teacher, and I was delighted to have him as a student,” said his mentor, former Senior Master Bob Gardiner, who was chair of the English department while Calabro was a student. “Joe was never satisfied with just what we did in class. He read more, wrote more, and was a curious guy,” Gardiner said.
“When we had a discussion in class, I could count on him to participate and figure things out with his own thoughts,” Gardiner said. “He was ready to think more. It’s a real joy to me that Joe became a teacher,” he added.
“I owe what I am to this place,” Calabro said. “I had a chance to try all these opportunities.” And try them he did. The day student from Waterbury was involved in 15 clubs and activities, served as president of the biology club, was a member of the National Honor Society, and worked as both the art editor and co-editor of the Rolling Stone yearbook.
Athletics were also part of Calabro’s broad experience at the Academy. He was on both the track and cross country teams and taught karate to fellow students. At graduation, he was honored with the Parents Association Award which is presented to a student who, for at least three years, has given the most of himself for the good of the Academy.
“He took full advantage of the small classes. He made a name for himself,” said Calabro’s daughter, Lisa Calabro. “When I was growing up, he would come home with thank you notes or plates full of cookies. I always noticed that students were so thankful,” she said.
At Calabro’s retirement party in June 2014, Lisa Calabro said her father gave a farewell speech about his teaching philosophy. “He made a point of putting students first; he put in an effort to get to know them,” she said.
Looking back at his time at the Academy, Calabro remembered the support he received. “Teachers helped me love education and encouraged my interest,” he said. “There was individual attention and small classes.” Despite having taught at a public high school, with large class sizes and regimented curriculum, Calabro still applied student-centered teaching methods in his own classroom.
“I was teaching like I’d been taught. Seminar style. Sitting down with students,” Calabro said. He would put four tables together to create a Harkness table-like setting. “Teachers shouldn’t be on a pedestal but should be part of the community.”
When he went to college, Calabro said he had already learned to raise his hand and talk to teachers. He was not shy to offer up a point on the topic. “You can’t leave Cheshire Academy without having a positive attitude about education,” he said. Calabro said he learned the skill of discussion and organization at the Academy and how to take a large task and break it down into small components. He was a quiet student in grammar school, Calabro said, but once he became a student at the Academy, he learned public speaking and presentation skills.
“People who become teachers love school,” Calabro noted. When he began his profession, Calabro said he noticed students were much more inclusive than when he was in public elementary and middle school. Still, Calabro said, teaching can be chaotic. Students have up and down moods, he added, and teachers often work within a system that’s disorganized.
Calabro considered becoming a high school counselor and received a second master's degree in humanistic education to explore the possibility. He remained an English teacher, but he said he used a fusion of both degrees to teach. Calabro joined the National Association of Peer Programs and became certified to teach students how to support their fellow teens by learning to listen and respond.
After nearly 40 years in education, Calabro said he’s seen students become more comfortable with teachers. “They talk to you and bring up issues. You develop an honest relationship,” he said. During his tenure, Calabro taught two generations of students, and now his daughter Lisa, is teaching the children of a third generation. “I have a sense of pride that I’m carrying on his tradition,” she said.
