Woman receives award for dedication to children

Submitted photo

Dr. Mark McQuillan, CT Commissioner of Education, right, presents Southington resident Rose Zbikowski, the West Hartford District Reading/ Language Arts Curriculum Specialist, with this year’s Outstanding Reading Educator Award at the 2007 Connecticut Reading Association's 56th Annual Conference held at the Crowne Plaza, in Cromwell.

A local woman who has dedicated her life to helping children to read has been recognized for her efforts by the Connecticut Reading Association.
Rose Zbikowski, who lives in Southington, is the West Hartford District Reading and Language Arts Curriculum Specialist, and because of her outstanding performance in her chosen field, she was named the Outstanding Reading Educator at the 2007 Connecticut Reading Association's 56th annual conference.

Along with her teaching activities, Zbikowski has co-authored a book with Martha Beaudoin and Rosanne Daigneault entitled "Motivating the Struggling Adolescent Reader," and has been a presenter at local, state, and na-tional conferences.
The West Haven native received her undergraduate degree from Elms College, outside of Springfield, Massachusetts and her Masters degree from Southern Connecticut State College.

Zbikowski was awarded her sixth-year certificate from Central Connecticut State College. After graduation from Elms, Zbikowski returned home and taught English and Reading at West Haven High for seven years, then moved to the private sector for two years, teaching at the Stone School of Business in New Haven.

She moved to Southington in 1973, and subsequently began a 21-year career with the Southington School system, teaching English and Reading at both DePaolo and Kennedy Schools, and reading at Southington High School. Her last local position was at Flanders Elementary School, where she was a reading recovery resource and reading specialist.

Reading Recovery is a highly effective short-term intervention of one-to-one tutoring for low-achieving first grad-ers-the students who are not catching on to the complex set of concepts that make reading and writing possible. "That was an interesting and rewarding position," Zbikowski said. "And very satisfying, too." She left the local system four years ago to "take advantage of a new opportunity in a new system.

It is a very different challenge. I now work with the teachers who teach reading, helping them with their profes-sional development by introducing them to new and different methods and concepts in the reading field."

bikowski was nominated for the Outstanding Reading Educator Award by her director at work. "She called me in to her office, and asked me to bring my resume to her," Zbikowski said. "I thought that wasn't a good sign.

When she told me she was nominating me, she said. ‘I've never nominated someone before, so you better win.'"

The timing of the awards process presented Zbikowski with mixed emotions.
"Receiving the award was a bittersweet moment for me," Zbikowski said. "I was told I had won the award two weeks after my husband, Robert, died. "Zeke," as he was known by almost everyone in town, knew I had been nomi-nated, but he never knew I won.
"My son, Rob, came with me to the ceremony, and having him there really helped."