OCALA, Fla. — A+ Teacher Stephanie Prisciandaro just has a way with words. She started her teaching career right out of college. When it comes to her students at Osceola Middle School in Ocala, she really speaks their language.

What You Need To Know

  • Stephanie Prisciandaro teaches Spanish and reading competency 

  • Prisciandaro says she's always encouraged by her students growth  

  • She started school with limited English but is now trilingual 

Prisciandaro walks around her Osceola Middle School class, engaging her students in their classwork, asking questions and giving feedback.

She says it is an elective course they choose so they want to be there.

“Now, some of them do that just to kind of check off a requirement that they need to do for high school, but I think that's how they start. I don't believe that's how they finish," she says.

Prisciandaro is always encouraged by her student’s growth.

"In the beginning they know no Spanish. By the end of the year, they can write a two-paragraph story or essay, so they really see a huge improvement in their language development in Spanish," she shares.

Prisciandaro understands the struggle. She started school as a five-year-old girl with limited English. Her first language is Portuguese, so she is trilingual.

Her family is from Portugal and she attended a rigorous magnet program beginning in the third grade in which she studied Spanish. 

Prisciandaro adds, "I guess some time in high school I just decided that I really liked to be around kids, and I really liked to teach kids, so I knew that was kind of my path."

Spanish is her favorite subject to teach and Prisciandaro really likes teaching students at the middle school grade level.

“I find it just a really gratifying age because they are trying to find themselves and it's just a different time in their lives and so I really like to make those connections with the kids," she says.

She loves introducing students to a new world.

Prisciandaro adds, "In my class they learn a language and the culture that surrounds it. They not only learn grammar and all the nuances that go into foreign language, but they also learn to be courageous and how to dive into learning something completely unfamiliar. What we do is hard work every day but it's really fulfilling work and we just really appreciate the support from the community."