Gregory Bonsignore is new to Bellows Free Academy, new to St. Albans and is bringing a new role and perspective as BFA’s first literacy interventionist.  In an interview with The Mercury, Bonsignore said that has a senior advisory and teaches five blocks of English Lab.

According to Bonsignore, his job is to “support struggling readers” as well as “[help] teachers to become better at meeting the needs of a broad range of student abilities.”  He added that he  really likes “coming in with a fresh slate and creating the program from scratch.”

Bonsignore said that he got his undergraduate degree as an English education major at the University of Iowa and worked for his master’s as a reading specialist at National Louis University in Chicago. 

According to Bonsignore, he started teaching in Chicago and then spent seven years teaching in Lawrence, Kan. Then, after 18 months in Washington D.C. during the pandemic, he and his wife moved to Winooski last winter in search of job opportunities in schools. Bonsignore said he was careful in “informing [himself] about the community [he] would be joining.” 

When asked about any differences between his last job and working at BFA, Bonsignore stated that the school in Lawrence was much newer and still establishing traditions. “BFA… has over 90 years of tradition and a legacy of contributing to the community and producing scholars,” Bonsignore said. 

Bonsignore said he feels “the weight of history” at BFA.  He added, “you’re part of a lineage.”

Bonsignore also brings some unconventional practices to his classroom with his recent certification as a yoga teacher. He said he wishes to bring a sense of calm and balance to his students through “restorative circles and mindfulness routines” to start each week. 

“Coming out of the pandemic, and knowing that the mental health needs of not just students but all of society, are greater than ever before, I feel the urgency to address people’s overall well-being before sounding out words or how to write a good summary,” Bonsignore said.