HUDSON, N.H. — A love of books goes far beyond just the classroom for this Hills Garrison Elementary School reading specialist. In our latest Hudson School District Faculty Q&A, we chatted with Mrs. Ferrante to find out more about her passion for reading, which includes leading multiple book groups and a growing online presence for her book reviews.
Q: How long have you been at Hills Garrison, and how long have you been working in education?
A: I’ve worked for 23 years in the district. Then, the year before I started, I did my student teaching in the district. I originally stayed at home with my kids, and then I decided I wanted to pursue this, which is what I always wanted to do, but I just put it off at first. I got my degree in economics and business management, then I got married, had kids, and stayed home with them. Then I went back, got my teaching certifications for elementary grades K-8, and did my student teaching at Nottingham West. After that, I came to Hills in the middle of the year to take over for a first-grade teacher who was having twins. I was with that class for the rest of the school year, then hired to begin the following year.
Q: Have you had different roles with the district over time?
A: Yes, I’ve taught Kindergarten, first, second, and third grade. I’ve also been the assistant principal here, and I’ve been a reading specialist.
Q: With the reading specialist role, how did you become interested in that, and how did you end up in that position?
A: Reading is my thing. When you teach elementary, you teach all the subjects, but anything that is reading or writing related is my preference. I’m obsessed with reading. I have a bookstagram, and I review books for authors and publishers. It’s my thing.
Q: Okay, I’m very interested in that. Tell me more about these book reviews you do.
A: I have social media that’s strictly books. So, if you wanted to look up historical fiction book recommendations, my stuff will come up, and then people will follow me. I’ve also had authors and publishers reach out because they see the reviews and online posts.
Q: That’s really cool. Who are some of your favorite authors?
A: Kristin Hannah. I love her. I read almost every genre, so I have a lot of favorite authors. But authors who are big in historical fiction are my favorites. I love mystery thrillers like Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell, and then I also like literary and contemporary fiction. I also facilitate two book clubs. I do one for the staff here called All Booked Up. We just read Project Hail Mary. I also have a book club that’s with people outside of school.
Q: With this type of work that you do, what are some of the more rewarding moments?
A: I have really positive interactions with all the kids. With me not having a classroom, I have the students for 30 minutes at a time, and they’re usually excited to come and see me. Even though they’re working on something that they’re struggling with, they still like it. I also get to work with the data and numbers, which is something I like.
Q: What type of methods do you typically like to use to help students?
A: We’ve become very streamlined with our approach. For reading intervention, we’re using UFLI, which is a research and evidence-based systematic approach where you’re hitting phonemic awareness skills, decoding, encoding, and making connections to text.
Q: Outside of work, you mentioned how much you love to read. What else do you like to do outside of work if it’s not reading?
A: Working out, walking, and hanging out with my family. I have two adult daughters who are married, and I have four grandchildren. We spend a lot of time together.
Q: What would you say makes both the school community and the Hudson community unique?
A: I’ve had opportunities to leave the building and the district over the years, but I’ve always been happy here. We’ve always had a really good culture at Hills Garrison. Everyone likes each other and gets along. I had 30 people who wanted to join my book club when I first started it. I’ve just always loved the culture here, and it’s been really positive. Everyone helps each other out from department to department, and I feel like I can go to anyone for anything, and I think they feel the same way.
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