Our School

Holy Cross High School’s Italian teacher, Concetta Scarfone has been recognized with the University of Connecticut’s prestigious Instructor Award for Excellence in Course Instruction. This esteemed honor highlights Ms. Scarfone’s unwavering dedication to her students, her school community, and the UCONN Early College Experience (ECE) Program. Ms. Scarfone started teaching ECE Italian at the start of the 2024-2025 school year. Her commitment to academic excellence and passion for teaching have enriched her ECE-level class and left a lasting impact on the lives of her students.

The UCONN ECE community is comprised of almost 2,000 instructors. There is always a competitive nomination pool each year. The review committee received very strong nominations from many of Ms. Scarfone’s students.

Over the past year, the students in Ms. Scarfone’s ECE Italian class celebrated many achievements and accolades. In October 2024, students participated in the annual Italian Immersion and Quiz Bowl at UCONN, Storrs. This was the first time the students attended and won the first win of the first prize.

This past April, students took part in the UCONN Italian Multimedia Contest, centered on the theme “Il Linguaggio della Natura” (“The Language of Nature”). As part of the competition, students developed multimedia projects that explored how nature communicates through sound, imagery, or environment. They were expressed in the form of either an essay, story or poem accompanied by a visual component. Altogether, approximately 30 entries were submitted by students from the participating schools. Two Crusaders, Tiago Oliveira and Davide Casseta, won Second and Third Place, respectively.

Ms. Scarfone has a unique multilingual background. Born in Venezuela to Italian parents, she was exposed to both Italian and Spanish from a young age. Italian was her first language, while Spanish became the language of communication outside her home.

However, when she was ten years old, her parents decided to move to the United States. This change in environment brought about new expectations for her language skills. Her great uncle believed that she should only speak English, but her mother insisted that they maintain their Italian and Spanish languages within their household while using English outside. As a result, Mrs. Scarfone became trilingual before even reaching adolescence, mastering all three languages with ease.

Mrs. Scarfone’s ability to speak three languages fluently proved to be a valuable asset in her career. Despite originally starting out in medical technology, she eventually found herself gravitating towards the business side of the medical field. However, it wasn't until she discovered her passion for teaching that she truly found her calling.

Over the years, Mrs. Scarfone has honed her teaching skills and worked with both high school and college students to help guide them towards success. Her diverse background and linguistic abilities have contributed to her effectiveness as an educator, allowing her to connect with students from various backgrounds and create an inclusive learning environment.

Mrs. Scarfone is also an Adjunct Faculty member at Fairfield University and the University of Bridgeport where she teaches Italian and Spanish, respectively.