I'm a third year ELA teacher here at the Bay Academy. I approach my classroom with a cross-curriculum, student-led emphasis. In other words, if you were a fly on the wall during any particular day, you would see my students out of their seats often, problem solving constantly, and debating big ideas vigorously. I'm a Harry Potter, coffee, NFL, and pizza aficionado who takes pride in my ability to cook a technically flawless French Omelette. I graduated with honors from SUNY New Paltz’s Adolescent Education program and speak periodically at Suffolk County Community College as an alumni ambassador. In addition to traditional instruction, I am active in I.S. 98 extracurriculars such as the NIA afterschool program, College Access For All initiative, No One Eats Alone initiative, and the co-editor of our school newspaper, The Bay Current.

This is my 7th year teaching at the Bay Academy. I have been working for a total of 9 years in NYC schools. I received my Masters Degree in Childhood Education from Wagner college in 2007. As an ELA teacher, I love being given the opportunity to provide students with the chance to develop a love for reading and writing.

I am a certified NYC teacher with Bachelor’s and Master’s in English from New York University. I have been teaching at Bay Academy for 20 years. My goal as an educator is to motivate students through literature and inspire them to think critically. I want to ensure they are ready to meet any challenge head on and succeed.

I have been teaching Middle School English for the past 27 years. I graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in English and Secondary Education. I have a Master’s Degree from Adelphi University in Reading Education. I love teaching 7th grade ELA. I strive to create a student driven classroom that promotes critical thinking and expression. I am an avid reader and I try to bring that love to my students each and every day.

I am an English Language Arts Teacher at the Bay Academy. I am is currently in my sixth year teaching. I graduated from St. Joseph’s University with a degree in English Literature. I am known by colleagues and students alike as having worked in a variety of occupations most notably apiculture, construction, landscape architecture, food service, janitorial service, and accounting. I use the experiences in these jobs to enrich the context with which I teaches. Using anecdotes and real-life examples, he stresses conceptual analysis and synthesis. I believe that with these tools, students can achieve mastery level in any subject.

I live behind a bookcase with my mischievous cat Moon. Before finding my true calling as a teacher, I played guitar in a rock n' roll band and published several collections of poetry. Hailing from the swamplands of New Jersey, I studied creative writing at Pratt Institute and received my masters in education from Brooklyn College. You might catch him riding his bike to school, even on the coldest, dampest December mornings. I believe ELA is more than just reading and writing -- it's where we discover the world and, more crucially, ourselves. 

Hello my name is Rosa Maletta and I teach 6th grade English. I’m originally from Pennsylvania and moved here 11 years ago because I always wanted to live and teach in New York.  I have been teaching for 32 years and love what I do! My first language was Italian and I’m also trying to learn Spanish. I love to sing, garden and organize almost anything. I run a tight ship in the classroom but my students KNOW that I want the very best for them. 📚😊💞

My name is James Mascioli. I am an English Language Arts teacher at the Bay Academy. I graduated from Marist College in 2012 with a major in secondary education. Upon graduating, I moved to Spain and taught English there to Spanish-speaking students. After a year in Spain, I moved back to the States and I am now in my fourth year at the Bay Academy. My hobbies include but are not limited to podcasts, the Minnesota Vikings (unfortunately), reading, and just nerdy things in general. I started a Dungeons and Dragons afterschool club last year that’s popularity has rapidly grown. Some say that it is the hottest club in town. I am a THREE time Pi Day champion and plan on winning my fourth championship this March. I am looking forward to another fulfilling year at the Bay Academy!

 I am honored to have been teaching sixth grade English at the Bay Academy, in my mind the best middle school in Brooklyn, for the past 15 years.  I received my undergraduate degree in English Literature from Stony Brook University, and went on to complete a Master's degree in Adolescent Education. 

As part of a cohesive and collaborative teacher team, we are privileged to offer your children a high quality education in a unique environment focused on the whole child. Our Expeditionary Learning curriculum is focused on very close annotation of fiction and nonfiction text, along with citing evidence to support claims made. 

Prior to my teaching career, I worked as a licensed trader at a corporate bond desk on Wall Street before making a move to Hawaii for several years.  I love to travel whenever possible, and I thoroughly enjoy our classroom discussions to find out more about your students. 

Learning begins with trust. It is my mission to build a respective environment in my classroom where student rapport takes priority. I have been teaching for seven years, primarily in various high schools and now 8th grade at The Bay Academy. I received my Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Creative Writing with a minor in Adolescent Education through CUNY The College of Staten Island. I went on to complete my Master's Degree in Poetry through Southern New Hampshire University. I have various works of poetry and short fiction published both online and in print as well as many unfinished journals crowding my nightstand.

I have been a teacher in the NYC public school system for the past 20 years.  I have a Bachelor’s degree in history from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a Master’s degree in childhood education from Touro College.  I have had the opportunity to teach many different subjects but English has always been my favorite.  Currently, I teach 6^th grade ELA and am excited to open a world of reading to the new students of the Bay Academy.

When I was little, anytime I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up my answer was always a teacher…so here I am! I received dual Bachelors’ Degrees from Wagner College in both Elementary Education and English. I attended graduate school at Queens College and received my Master’s Degree in Secondary Education English. I have been an English teacher in the NYC Department of Education for sixteen years. This is my fourth year at The Bay Academy. I really have a passion for reading and writing. I am an avid reader and love to write in the little bit of spare time that I have. I always say after I retire maybe I’ll be a writer, but for now, I am very happy being a teacher and a mom of three. I love music, anything crafty, and baking. I also love to laugh and have fun, and I’m hoping we can do a lot of that in class this year, with some learning thrown in there as well, of course!

My name is Sandra Tortorella and I have been teaching for over 15 years. I obtained a Masters’ in Education and have worked with diverse populations. I believe in the age old philosophy that it takes a village to raise a child and that society benefits when we all pitch in together.  

Fun Facts: I am bilingual. I am an avid traveler and I like to study abroad. I enjoy visiting museums and taking pictures as a picture is worth a thousand words. My favorite authors include: Rick Riordan, Brad Meltzer, Jane Austen and William Shakespeare.  

My name is Steven Vissichelli and I am an 8^th grade English Language Arts teacher at Bay Academy. I graduated Fairfield University in 2015 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and a minor in educational studies. I then furthered my education at Fairfield by earning my Master’s Degree in Secondary English Education in 2016. This is my third year at Bay Academy and one of my major goals as an eighth grade English teacher isn’t just to prepare my students for obstacles they may face in the classroom, but also in life. I am an avid Yankees fan, and a quiet Jets fan (for obvious reasons).

This is my seventeenth year at the Bay Academy and I am thrilled to teach the Creative Writing Talent. Creative Writing students have won many prestigious awards Citywide. I’m also the Yearbook advisor for the Eighth grade class. Being a part of the Bay Academy family is a joy.